Home for the Holiduels
by chazzercized
Summary: Chazz is unceremoniously dumped just before a holiday vacation where he planned to introduce his fiance to his family. On his way there alone, he runs into Jesse, who accidentally takes on the role of Chazz's fake fiance for the next two weeks.
1. A Surprise Engagement

One hour before his flight, Chazz is pacing outside at departures with his eyes glued to his phone. He spares a few glances up whenever he hears a loud engine - anything resembling a motorcycle. The line at security is growing and he has yet to check-in, but it feels wrong to not wait until the very last minute. Not when Jaden isn't there yet.

Chazz dials Jaden's number for the hundredth time. He has been calling every twenty minutes, ever since he woke up alone in bed and found more than just the luggage Jaden had packed for their trip missing.

"Listen, if you've taken off again... You could just break up with me to my face, you know. That would be much less stressful and-" The phone vibrating, alerting Chazz of another call, makes him pause. Syrus' name is on his screen, so he hangs up on Jaden's nearly full voicemail.

"What?" Chazz snaps, knowing full well what Syrus is calling about.

Chazz had made the mistake of texting him after he first woke up, asking if he had seen Jaden. There hadn't been an answer, so Chazz had just assumed that meant no, he hadn't seen him. Unfortunately, Syrus is the type to call instead of text back, and he has an 'I told you so' attitude when it comes to his relationship problems with Jaden.

"You knew this would happen, I don't know why you keep- I told you-" Syrus takes a deep breath and a couple tense seconds of silence follows.

The corner of Chazz's lip twitches and he bites back the sort of retort that would have he and Syrus on non-speaking terms for a while - despite how appealing that sounds at the moment. Syrus is right, but Chazz doesn't need him to make him feel any more stupid than he already does.

"It doesn't matter. I'm at the airport, so I'm gonna go," Chazz says after a few seconds of tense silence.

"Alright. Oh, try not to miss your plane waiting for-"

Chazz ends the call.

His brothers had called him two days ago to ask him whether or not the engagement was real, if they were actually going to be meeting anyone this year. It isn't an unfair question, even if it was being done to taunt him. Jaden did unceremoniously dump him before meeting their parents last year too, and anytime someone in his family asked about their relationship, it was really hit or miss whether or not there would be any relationship to mention. They had been accusing Chazz of making the whole thing up for attention, especially after he only told his mom about getting engaged. And that it was only a little over a month ago that it happened.

A "Sounds fakes," from Jagger and a "If you show up single and mom spends the holidays focused on you, you'll regret it," from Slade was enough to send him into high anxiety mode.

Having to go there single, having said yes, getting back together with Jaden in the first place. Chazz already regrets everything.

A security officer stops him as he gets to the end of the line. Chazz sighs as the man does a once over with his wand before letting him grab his things. The terminal is just close enough that Chazz has too much time to sit and stare at his phone and dwell on the fact that Jaden definitely isn't coming.

Ding. Just social media. Buzz. Just Atticus inviting him to dinner. Buzz. A sympathetic text from Alexis who had just heard from Syrus what had happened. Ding. News alert. Chazz sighs. He decides to try one more time. Straight to voicemail.

"I'll talk to you in a bit."

A familiar voice catches Chazz's attention. He looks up and finds himself looking at Jesse Anderson. He's carrying a large plastic bag and beaming at Chazz.

"Funny running into you here! It's a been a minute, huh?"

Jesse takes a seat near Chazz, leaving one empty between them. Chazz gives him a tightlipped smile as Jesse sets his bag down between them.

"Yep."

"As friendly as ever," Jesse says, chuckling.. "How've you been? You were a pretty big hit on the pro circuit up until about two months, then I stopped hearing your name all together."

His smile is pleasant and his sincerity annoying, considering Chazz feels exactly the opposite. Especially now that he has to interact with the very last person he would have wanted to run into after being ditched by Jaden.

"I took a break."

Jesse gives Chazz a look, as if he expects him to elaborate. Chazz doesn't.

"An enjoyable break, I hope. What've you been up to?"

Chazz isn't sure if he was serious or not. He raises an eyebrow. His relationship with Jaden wasn't public in any capacity, fortunately, but this was Jesse. They were best friends, he had to know. Chazz thought he always seemed like the oblivious type, though.

"Not much. Just preparing for the holidays and planning a wedding."

Jesse looks surprised. With a big grin on his face, he slaps Chazz on the shoulder.

"You don't say? Congratulations!"

Chazz furrows his brow and shrugs Jesse's hand away. They had told all their mutual close friends, so Chazz has a hard time believing Jaden wouldn't have at least mentioned it in passing to his own best friend.

"Are you serious?"

"...What?"

"You didn't already know?" Chazz frowns and Jesse frowns back.

"I mean, I didn't follow a lot of social media, it moves too fast for me," he chuckled a little, "so I don't bot-"

"Jaden didn't say anything to you?"

Jesse pauses. The confused expression on his face is baffling to Chazz. They sit there in silence for a moment as Jesse appears to be going over every conversation they've had in his head. Then something seems to click and he gives Chazz a resigned smile.

"Nope. Well, don't let him forget to invite me."

Jesse sounds as if he's trying his best to remain cheerful, but something in expression tells Chazz that he's a little offended. Chazz can't believe Jaden wouldn't mention him to Jesse. As far as he knew, the two had remained best friends long after Duel Academy. Chazz can't imagine why he wouldn't mention their relationship, unless Jesse and Jaden weren't actually as close as he had assumed. Since they never really had a reason to talk about Jesse, and he and Jaden's other friends weren't really friends with him, he never really thought about it. Chazz had just assumed the two were still close.

Chazz wonders if maybe Jaden had never actually taken their relationship seriously, or if he was too embarrassed to tell someone that actually mattered to him. Fortunately, Jesse interrupts this train of thought.

"When did you two get together?"

"Do you even talk to him anymore?" Chazz hopes the answer is no. "It's been two years."

"Oh. Wow-"

"On and off, but…" he lets his sentence trail off, and frowns at the bag between them. It's Panda Express and it smells delicious. "I'm surprised he didn't say anything-"

"We don't talk much," Jesse says. He looks frustrated as he fidgets with his hands, then he seems to cheer up suddenly. This time it appears to be genuine. He digs through the Panda Express bag. He pulls out a fortune cookie and holds it out for Chazz to take.

"Seeing as I just learned about any of this, I'm assuming I wasn't going to be getting one of those fancy invitations."

Chazz feels a little bad for Jesse - apparently no one is too good to be left behind by Jaden - but he also feels a petty satisfaction knowing this. Jesse grabs Chazz's wrist before manages to find a response and forces the cookie into his palm.

"All marriages should start off with good fortune!" He beames. Chazz rolls his eyes.

"These are mass produced and usually just have some clichéd proverb on it."

Jesse just shrugs, so Chazz takes the cookie out and cracks it open. He reads the tiny piece of paper, glares, then reads it again.

"What's your future lookin' like?"

"Your judgement is a little off at this time," Chazz reads aloud. Jesse chuckles.

"Not really an 'applies to everyone' cookie this time, huh? Let's see what mine says!" Chazz glares at Jesse as he reaches into the bag and pulls out a second cookie. Jesse reads it with an amused smile.

"What's it say?" Chazz asks.

"Romance and travel go together now." Jesse chuckles awkwardly and hands it to Chazz. "It seems I got yours."

"Obviously. You got two meals from Panda Express for yourself, so clearly it's your judgement that's a little off," he quips as he eyes the two meals and several sides inside the bag.

They swap papers but Chazz frowns as he reads the one Jesse had opened. He doesn't believe in fortune cookies, but if he did, he would think that whichever he opened was meant to be his,. His anxiety is high enough right now that he finds himself worrying that the other one might have been accurate, but unsure of what it was referring to.

He crumples the fortune up and drops it into a baffled Jesse's bag.

"Jaden disappeared this morning, left his ticket and luggage behind, and he's not responding to my calls or texts. So I'd say romance is not on the agenda for this trip."

"He's supposed to be here?" Jesse looks around like he thinks Jaden might suddenly walk up on them; like he didn't hear the 'Jaden disappeared' part.

"He's supposed to be meeting my parents," Chazz explained. "We're spending the holidays with my family. Well, it's just me now. Like last time."

"...Last time?"

"Jaden bailing on me last minute is nothing new. Atticus insists, unironically, that he's allergic to commitment."

"Maybe you did open the correct fortune cookie."

Chazz stares at him, thrown by the response.

"Excuse me?"

"I just mean... Nevermind, I apologize. That was out of line."

Jesse backs down quick. With an embarrassed smile he starts to drum on the arm of the chair, then reaches for his phone.

"No, go on," Chazz says.

"It's not my place, I wasn't thinking-" He looks between Chazz and his phone, as if torn between his instinct to be polite, and his desire to escape the awkward moment he created.

"You obviously have something to say that you think I need to hear."

Jesse looks contemplative as he continues to stare at the lock screen on his phone. Finally he sighs and shrugs.

"You don't sound like you expect a whole lot from him, but set yourself up for disappointment anyway." Chazz tenses up. He had been expecting something judgemental, but he wasn't prepared to be called out like this. Jesse continues, "I just reckon getting engaged was a misguided attempt at breaking a pattern, when you're really just making a big deal out of doing more of the same ol' thing."

"It was his idea."

"Okay."

Chazz frowns.

"Whatever. Maybe you're right. I have no idea what he was thinking."

Jesse shrugs and starts checking his messages.

"Neither do I."

A woman on the intercom began to speak, calling for Chazz's flight to begin boarding.

"Well, this was a fun conversation," Chazz says as he gets to his feet before reaching for his things.

"I'm sorry, Chazz. I only meant to come say hi, and catch up a little," Jesse smiles, but he looks embarrassed. "I hope you have a good time with your family. You deserve a good holiday. It's not your fault it started out so rough."

Chazz freezes. He hadn't realized how convinced it was his fault until Jesse said that. Hearing it said makes him feel worse because he doesn't believe Jesse. He smiles at him anyway, because he appreciates the sentiment, and he hopes that it's true.

"Well," Chazz says, pulling up the handle on his suitcase. "I hope you do get your romance on your travels. Where are you headed, by the way?"

"Oh, nowhere. I just came for Panda Express."

Chazz blinks. He almost laughs, but there was no hint of sarcasm in Jesse's tone. Everything about his response had been so genuine.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah!" Jesse replies excitedly, tying the bag back up and hopping to his feet. "This place has the best Panda in the entire area."

"You're on a first name basis with the place?"

"I eat there a lot. I already had it this week, but I was craving it today. And I got to catch up with an old friend, even if it was uncomfortable a large portion of the conversation. So I say it was worth the drive!"

"At the airport? Why?"

"I told you-"

"You have to go through security!" Chazz exclaims. "You have to buy a plane ticket!"

"Nah," Jesse says, waving a hand dismissively. "I get to skip the line and I don't pay for my tickets - I'm sponsored."

"To duel," Chazz explains. "You have to go somewhere with the ticket, not just to get orange chicken."

"Kung Pao, actually. And I only have to participate in professional duels once a month, so-"

"So they haven't seen the bill yet."

Jesse pauses. A look of concern begins to cover his face, and Chazz can't believe he really thought any sponsor would just waste money on plane tickets for him to not actually use them.

"They're free, though-"

"How dense are you? You pay with dueling and they pay with actual money. Nothing's free, Jesse."

"Well, golly," he says with a nervous chuckle. "I didn't realize. I feel mighty silly now. I should go somewhere and duel, since I'm here and I know now."

"I guess. Where's your ticket say?"

Jesse roots around in his pocket, pulling out ear buds and receipts and cards along with normal things like his wallet and his phone, handing them all to Chazz as he searches. He finally pulls out a plane ticket and reads the destination aloud.

"Dubai."

"Well, have fun in Dubai," Chazz tells him as he gets in line for his plane. "Oh, and happy holidays."

"You too. See ya, Chazz!"

Chazz scans his ticket and heads down the hall to the plane. The line moves slowly and he is left alone with just his thoughts again. Already he misses having someone to chat with, even if it was Jesse Anderson, and it was one of the most awkward conversations he had ever had. He wishes that he had decided to stay home, maybe take Atticus up on that dinner, and probably get invited to the Rhodes' Christmas. Chazz isn't confident he can get through two weeks with his family and no Jaden. Specifically with no fiance. He survived years with his family, and he has managed to get through a lot of time without Jaden, so the hard part is really just the two weeks of bullying he is about to endure.

After getting comfortable in his seat, Chazz hears Jesse's voice coming from the jetway. He peeked his head over the top of one of the chairs. When Jesse emerges from around the corner, food in hand, he waves at Chazz and swiftly makes his way into the seat beside him.

"Hey again!"

"Why?"

"Well, I didn't really want to fly to Dubai alone. I don't know anyone there, so it didn't sound like much fun. But you had me feeling guilty about the whole plane ticket thing-"

"That's your fault."

"I know, but then I thought, hey! If I'm gonna go somewhere on a whim, I might as well go somewhere with a friend and get a good duel out of it."

"You want to duel me?" Chazz asks, choosing to ignore the friend comment for now.

"Absolutely! We can start your vacation off with something fun, and I won't feel so bad wasting all that money. And now we have a chance to properly hang out!"

"Joy."

"No talk of Jaden this time. Hungry?"

"Why do you have so much food?"

Jesse pauses for a moment, then smiles.

"I was getting lunch for me and a friend, but they cancelled."

"And after you went all the way to the airport for it."

Jesse ignores him and passes Chazz a box.

"I also have Chow Mein." He pulls the side out and shows it to Chazz.

Deciding Jesse's cancelled plans and idiocy was a blessing in disguise, Chazz grabs the Chow Mein and the plastic fork Jesse already had ready for him. He is hungry and had been wishing he didn't have to sit on a flight alone with his thoughts for four hours, so Jesse's unexpected company couldn't have come at a better time. A conversation is likely to be at least marginally better than his previous plan: getting drunk alone and sleeping until he reached his destination.

Nearly an hour into the flight, Jesse is snoring softly, his head resting on Chazz's shoulder. Chazz is stirring his second drink. He considers nudging Jesse off him at first, but it makes him feel a little less lonely to have him there. Instead, Chazz pretends he doesn't notice and watches a duel between Zane Truesdale and some hot new duelist on the small TV in front of him.

Chazz isn't sure when he fell asleep, but he wakes up as the plane hits the ground. His head resting on a jacket up against the window and Jesse is sat with his legs crossed on the seat beside him. He has his deck out.

"I tried to wake you up," he tells Chazz.

Jesse stops rifling through his deck and reaches across Chazz to take his jacket back.

"You didn't look too comfortable, trying to sleep with your head against the window." He put his deck in his coat pocket then put it on. He smiled at Chazz. "I'm ready for dueling when we get there."

"I feel nauseous," Chazz says, his stomach churning suddenly when the plane turns.

"I'd think so," Jesse says with a small chuckle. "You smell like they let you drink the whole bottle."

Chazz rubs the back of his neck, deciding to ignore that snide remark.

"And my neck hurts."

"We can duel tomorrow. I don't have anywhere to be."

"I can drop you at a hotel," Chazz offers. He had never gotten the chance to duel Jesse before, and as tired and sick as he feels, he's disappointed that he needs to put the opportunity on hold.

"Sounds good!"

They get off the plane and head quietly over to baggage claim. Jesse's phone rings, breaking the silence. He slows down and Chazz stops and turns.

"Sorry. I'll meet you over there in a moment, I have to take this," he says, his expression tense.

Chazz shrugs and walks the rest of the way alone.

Waiting at the baggage carousel for him are his brothers. Chazz's chest tightens. He had hoped they were just sending a car for him. They usually wouldn't bother to drive forty minutes to meet him, so he knows he's going to be berated the whole way home. He had been looking forward to a peaceful car ride where he wouldn't have to explain or defend himself. Just a little longer without having to feel worse than he already did.

"Knew it," Jagger says with a smirk, as Chazz approaches..

"Shut up." Chazz grumbles and walks past them to find his suitcase.

"You really can't keep one person around long enough to meet your family?" Slade asks. "Either you're just that awful to be around, or you made it up for the attention. Which is it? We have a bet."

Chazz grinds his teeth as he stares at the carousel. He's so frustrated that he almost forgets actually look for his bag.

"Well that's rude."

Chazz turns. Jesse is standing off to the side with his hands on his hips.

"Who asked you?" Jagger snaps as he turns to face him.

"Hey, aren't you Jesse Anderson?" Slade asks.

It's quiet for a second, almost as if Jesse didn't hear the question. Then he gives him a bright smile.

"You recognize me? Chazz must talk about me a lot," he says, his tone a little chipper. Chazz raises his eyebrows. He's not sure why Jesse would ever be under that impression.

"No, you're famous," Slade replies. Chazz is too baffled to say anything, he just lets Jesse continue on.

"Oh, I am, aren't I?" Jesse chuckles and rubs the back of his neck. "Wait, what break up are we talking about?"

He gives both Slade and Jagger a sad frown. "Did one of you have a recent heartbreak? And just before the holidays? I'm so sorry to hear that."

They look at each other with confused expressions, then Slade points at Chazz.

"No, we're talking about Chazz. Why are you talking to us?"

"Dumped?" Jesse says, adding in a small gasp, as if he is surprised. "Chazz, I was teasing when I said I couldn't ever look at you again. You're so dramatic." Jesse shakes his head and sighs. waves his hand dismissively and turns back to Chazz's brothers. "He actually tried to tell me that Yugi Moto is overrated."

"Wait, you're telling us you're his fiance?" Slade asks, sounding skeptical.

"Well, of course! He told you I was coming. I was right there when he made the phone call."

Chazz stares at Jesse, completely thrown by his lie. When Jagger glances over at him, Chazz puts on a neutral expression the best he can.

"He said Jaden was coming," Jagger says, watching Chazz carefully as he speaks. It's as if he's trying to catch him in Jesse's lie. "We didn't even know you two knew each other."

"We've known each other since Duel Academy," Chazz tells them. He thinks about calling Jesse out on his lie, but he has let him talk so long, he isn't really sure how he would go about it. He's also not sure that he wants to do that. It feels nice to have someone have his back, and he is enjoying watching his brothers get gaslighted.

"I definitely said Jesse," he lies, deciding to go along with it. He isn't sure how it could possibly end well, but it is at least fun for the moment. "It'd be a little weird to say someone who isn't my fiance."

"Well then what happened to Jaden?"

"Did you two break up just a little before we got together? About two years ago?" Jesse asks, tapping his chin as if trying to remember.

"So you're the one that's been dumping him every few months for the past two years," Slade says with a smirk on his face. Jagger snorts quietly as if Slade said something funny.

"Oh, no. That's not quite what happened," Jesse says, smiling at them. "We've always had very different lifestyles, so it's taken us a bit to figure it all out."

The confusion and irritation radiating off his brothers filled Chazz with joy - he can actually feel the Christmas spirit right there in the baggage claim.

"Chazz, grab your bag. It's all by itself now," Jesse says, pointing behind Chazz. "So, where's the car?"

"Don't you have to get your bag?" Slade asks.

"It was put on the wrong plane. It'll be delivered to me by tomorrow," Jesse says, beaming at both of them as they respond with skeptical expressions. Slade walks away, heading for the doors and Jagger follows. Chazz grabs his bag and he and Jesse follow behind them, walking slow.

"What the hell was that?" Chazz whispers.

"I don't know, pal. I'm sorry," Jesse says, gritting his teeth and smiling awkwardly. "They were being so hateful and it fired me up a bit. I got a little carried away."

"Yeah, you did. They're just going to be worse when we say it was a joke."

"Well, then we won't say that. This could be fun! I'll just go with you. We can hang out, duel, and you don't have to get harassed by your family."

"Don't you have somewhere to be for the holidays, though? You don't actually have to stay, I didn't even consider-"

"I got your back!" Jesse slaps him playfully on the shoulder. "Wow, that's a long car! Can we sit directly in the middle?"

Chazz sighs and follows Jesse to the car, where the chauffeur is waiting, holding the door open. He isn't sure if can put up with having Jesse Anderson around for two weeks. He hardly knows him and his energy is already a little overwhelming. But, when it comes to dealing with his brothers, a fake fiance is better than no fiance. And having Jesse to pretend with him is better than having no one at all.


	2. A Family Affair

_r u coming back  
_ _u ok?  
_ _theres got to be closer pandas_

_i'll be back soon_

_you said that 6 hours ago  
__whats soon_

Jesse sends a shrugging emoji then puts his cellphone down on his lap and stares at the mansion ahead of them in awe. The car slowly pulls up the winding driveway toward the tall gate, fashionably covered in vines and guarded by stone statues of dragons. It isn't that he's never seen a mansion before, he's been inside many. It's that he's never personally known anyone so absurdly rich that they lived in a home like this.

Chazz is sitting across from him, leaning on the seat back and staring out the window. His expression is neutral except for his eyes, which are puffy and glossy. Jesse can't tell if he's just hungover, or if he's also trying not to cry. He hopes that's not the case, but he imagines he might feel the same way if something like that had happened to him. His sympathy shifts to guilt when his phone buzzes. Then it buzzes again.

_heyyy neat  
_ _that looks like you_

Jesse puts his phone in his pocket and looks back at Chazz, who is now looking at him. He grins, but he only receives forced smile and a partial eye roll in return. The car stops and Jesse considers pulling Chazz aside and telling him that he actually does know where Jaden is. That he's texting him right now. That Chazz ate his dinner.

But Jagger and Slade are in earshot the entire walk to the door, and Jesse doesn't know how to explain having lied now that he's had six hours to tell him he and Jaden do talk, but no, Jaden had never mentioned Chazz. If he doesn't tell him soon, Jesse thinks, it's going to seem intentional - malicious, even - when it inevitably comes out.

"This place is huge!" he says instead. "I thought we were just meeting your parents?"

"We are," Chazz says.

"What in the Sam Hill do they need all this space for?"

At the door, a butler greets them and takes their coats. Jesse lingers by the doorway when he notices the driver following them up with Chazz's bag.

"I could have grabbed that for you, if you didn't want to carry it," he says when Chazz turns back.

"That's literally what he's paid to do. Come on."

Walking through the house is no less impressive. Everything is grand and unnecessarily spacious, especially for how minimalistic the decor is.

"I reckon you could fit ten thousand of us in here," Jesse whispers, to which he receives a large sigh from all three of them.

"Chazzerbee!"

A shrill voice comes from the other end of the room they've just entered. Jesse looks over to see a tall, lanky woman with black hair and a nearly transparent complexion rushing toward them. She wraps Chazz up into a tight embrace and while his expression is one of annoyance, he seems to relax into her hug.

"What's going on?" he asks.

Jesse wonders the same. He gazes around at the room of people gazing back at them.

"When you said Jaden- Sorry," she says, reaching out to take Jesse's hand. It's awkward, but he smiles anyway. "When you said that Jesse was coming a few weeks ago, I was a little nervous. It hadn't gone so well last time-"

"That was Jaden," Chazz tells her.

Jesse wonders how weird it is to lie to his mother's face. Seeing how excited she is to see the both of them, Jesse feels like maybe he shouldn't have let it go this far. There were a million other things he could've said. He could have just said nothing at all, too. Minded his own business.

"Right," she smiles. "I didn't realize you had found somebody new. Anyway, I had to make sure everyone was here to congratulate you!"

She lets go of Chazz and pulls Jesse into an embrace.

"And welcome you into the family! I'm Chazz's mother - you can call me Charlotte."

Despite being so bony looking, Jesse thinks that she gives very good hugs.

"I'm so happy to finally meet you," Jesse mumbles. He glances over at Chazz, who seems to be determined to chew his bottom lip off.

She lets go and takes a step back. Jesse looks around at all the people. He assumes they're all extended family. His heart pounds and he scoots just a little closer to Chazz, wishing he actually knew anyone here.

A very dignified, handsome man stands up from one of the chairs and approaches him, his hand outstretched. Jesse beams up at him, taking his hand and giving it a firm shake.

"I'm Jett Princeton, Chazz's uncle. It's a pleasure to meet you… Jesse, is it?"

His expression is pleasant, as is his tone. But something about the way he spoke makes Jesse feel like he's lying.

"Yes, sir. And the same to you!" he says.

A mousy looking woman in flowy, absurd clothing appears from behind Jett. She's smiling, but Jesse has the distinct feeling that he's being sized up and that she's not entirely impressed. Jesse gives her a small wave. She gives him an even wider, faker looking smile and wraps her arms around Jett's arm.

"When will we be receiving our invitation? How far out of our way will we be going?"

Chazz grumbles something under his breath that Jesse doesn't catch.

"It's been three weeks, Marelia, give them a break." Charlotte swoops in and guides Jesse away. "I want you to meet someone."

"Mother, wait-" Chazz begins, but Marelia - whom Jesse assumes is his aunt - steps in front of him and begins asking him personal questions about their relationship.

Jesse lets himself be pushed across the room, passing several people with tightlipped smiles and a few people that didn't bother smiling at all. They stop in front of what might have been the oldest woman in the world. Jesse smiles at her and she returns the gesture with a scoff.

"Sit," she demands, pointing at the chair beside her. Jesse obeys.

"Are you one of those duelists?" she asks, as Charlotte walks away to talk with someone else Jesse doesn't know.

"Yes, ma'am." Jesse smiles proudly and pats the pouch on his belt that holds his deck.

The woman frowns. "Do you not intend on joining our family?"

Jesse is taken aback. He isn't sure how to respond, because he isn't entirely sure what he had said that made her question his intentions. He glances over at Chazz, but he's too busy talking to Marelia to notice him.

"I do…"

The look on her face as he hesitates makes Jesse feel like she can see right through him. It felt wrong to lie to someone so ancient, but he's a little afraid that maybe she knew he was lying and would smite him down for doing so.

"Then you will call me Dotty, like the rest of my grandchildren. None of this ma'am business."

Jesse's chest tightens but he forces a smile.

"Well, then Dotty it is!"

From across the room, sitting at a piano, a young woman about Jesse's age called out to him.

"Hey, Jesse, Charlotte was telling us you proposed!"

The room falls quiet except for a couple whispers and an 'awww' sound. The woman looks unpleasant, and with curly blonde hair and a fake tan, she also looks nothing like the rest of the Princeton family.

"I sure did," Jesse replies, avoiding eye contact with Chazz's grandmother. He looks over at Chazz, who's pressed against the wall near the piano and winks. "We're forever."

Chazz's face flushes as looking around nervously. Jesse thinks it's kind of funny how easily embarrassed he is by something so silly.

"How did he do it, Chazz," Jagger asks. "Tell us the story."

He doesn't even attempt to mask his mocking tone. Jesse wonders if he would understand that dynamic better were he to have any siblings, because so far the family is quite pleasant besides the two of them. Jealousy is the only thing that comes to his mind. Jesse always hears that the "baby" is the favorite and unless he hasn't been introduced to another sibling yet, Chazz seems to be the youngest.

"Oh, I love a good romantic tale!" There is a man grinning and standing in one of the entryways to the room. He is the only person dressed casually - sort of like a cowboy, but specifically the kind you might find in a flashy musical. Jesse likes his style.

Jesse glances at Chazz, who looks like a deer in the headlights.

"He's just embarrassed-" Jesse starts to say, but Chazz interrupts.

"He just sort of asked, I said yes. No big deal."

"What?" Jesse, Charlotte, and at least two other people say at the same time.

"That's no way to ask someone to marry you, Jesse," Chazz's grandmother says.

Jesse agrees. He looks at Chazz, eyebrows raised. Not only is he surprised that Chazz couldn't think of anything even slightly better on the spot, he has the impression that it was true about him and Jaden. How uninspired. Now Jesse is the one being judged for it, and while he doesn't like lying to the world's oldest woman or Chazz's very lovely mom, he also finds himself wanting to impress them.

"I had something planned," Jesse explains, frowning at Chazz before looking around at everyone else. He chuckles and scratches at the back of his neck. "It just sorta slipped out early. I suppose I got a little excited."

"A sudden proposal? How sweet, though," the woman at the piano says. "Was something romantic happening to make you forget your plans?"

"Absolutely," Jesse says at the same time that Chazz says, "No."

"Of course it was," Jesse insists. Chazz seems to realize that he's making it weird, because he smiles awkwardly and changes his response.

"Sorry, I misunderstood what you said," Chazz says, waving his hand dismissively. "It was during a very intimate moment, so I'd rather not talk about it."

Jesse thinks his lying voice is transparent, so he looks around at everyone's faces to see if they're hearing what he is. He isn't sure, but he does get the distinct impression that his immediate family isn't buying it.

"Pft. I give it two more months at best," Slade says.

"Don't be rude," Charlotte says, slapping him on the arm.

"I agree," Jagger says, moving out of his mother's reach. "It's not like Chazz is easy to be around. All we ever hear about is their rocky relationship, and it sounds like they just got engaged on a whim. They can't even agree on how it happened!"

"Ooh, maybe he did it to end an argument!" Marelia chimes in. Jesse isn't a fan.

"I certainly wouldn't want to admit to something like that," Jett says as he gives Jesse a disapproving look.

Chazz is rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands. Jesse frowns. The conversation is spiraling out of control, so he decides it's time to find a way out of it. He hops up and walks across the room to Chazz.

"Chazzy," Marelia scoots in closer to Chazz, but stage whispers for everyone to hear, "Have you considered he might just be in it for the money?"

"Have you considered shutting up?" Chazz snaps back.

"Come on, sug'." Jesse takes Chazz by the hand and pulls him along as he hurries toward the exit.

"We'll visit later, but we're a little jet lagged. It was lovely meeting ya'll," he says with a bright smile and little wave, before they round the corner into the hallway.

"Which way do we go?" Jesse whispers.

Chazz pulls his hand away and sighs before taking the lead. They speed walk down the hall, then up a grand staircase, and all the way to a room at the end of a long hall on the third floor.

The room they enter looks almost as big as the one they were just in, except it has posters of duelists and prep school trophies lining the walls. The curtains are drawn and covering a large window nearly the height and width of the wall opposite to the door. There's a wardrobe and an open door leading into the bathroom to one side, and a large bed to the other.

"I reckon it'd just make our relationship look worse off if I slept in another room, huh?" Jesse asks.

"We can make something comfortable to put on the floor." Chazz shrugs. He heads over to the bed, flops down on his back, and lets out a heavy sigh. Jesse closes the door behind him then goes and sits down beside Chazz.

"We can duel for who gets the bed. That'd be fun and fair!"

Chazz raises an eyebrow. "It's my bed, we don't have to duel to know who's sleeping in it."

"I'm the guest, and doing you a favor. One that apparently involves making me look like a jerk."

Chazz sighs and sits up. Jesse notes the sad expression on his face and feels bad for having said anything. Jesse thinks being fake engaged has been weird enough, he can't imagine how it must feel to be fake engaged and technically real engaged at the same time.

"I got nervous and then I just sort of… said the thing I was thinking about. I didn't mean to make it awkward," Chazz says.

Jesse smiles.

"Can I ask you a personal question?" he asks.

"I'd rather you didn't," Chazz grumbles. After a beat, he says, "If I can ask you something."

"Deal. You can go first."

"Were you going to spend the holidays alone?"

Jesse frowns and looks down at the pouch holding his deck. It sounds bad when Chazz phrases it like, and Jesse had never thought much about the holidays. It doesn't bother him, and he is never really alone.

"Of course not! I always have my monsters," Jesse explains. Chazz rolls his eyes.

"So, yes. Where's your family?"

"My parents died when I was a kid," Jesse says with a shrug. "I got lucky and lived with some pretty nice families. Then I got into North Academy and I spent less time with anyone but duelists. Now it's just me, my monsters, and an apartment."

"Also paid for by sponsors you don't work for?"

"I work! Just not as often as my itineraries would have them think." Jesse chuckles. "I also budget and save, so I haven't had too many issues since I started making money."

Chazz looks like he's thinking very seriously about something. Jesse watches him for a moment.

"How did you guys get engaged?" he asks. He kicks off his shoes and scoots back to lean against the headboard.

Chazz shrugs.

"Just like I said."

"Sure, but how did he ask?" Jesse insists. "Just out of the blue, like you weren't expectin' it at all?"

Chazz considers him for a moment, then lays back down.

"I had just broken up with him. I was in the middle of putting his things outside and he was bargaining, and he just sort of asked. Well, I suppose it was more like a suggestion."

Jesse stares at him. He does this just a little too long because Chazz glances over at him. When he sees Jesse's bewildered expression, he huffs and looks away.

The look isn't directly entirely at Chazz. Not that anything Chazz has said sounds romantic in the slightest, but Jesse can't imagine Jaden being romantically involved with someone, let alone wanting to get married. Especially considering that Chazz was here without a real fiance, and Jaden was currently waiting for his dinner at Jesse's apartment.

"Well, why the world would you say yes to that?"

"I thought it was just one question, not a full interrogation," Chazz says as he sits up and starts to take off his shoes.

"Right. Sorry," Jesse mumbles.

"I'm going to take a nap." Chazz stands up and stares down at him. "So let's duel."

"Or," Jesse says, unfastening the belt with his deck on it and sets it on the side table. "We could just be mature about it and share the bed. It's not like there isn't plenty of room."

Chazz stares, seeming to be considering this, and Jesse just smiles patiently. After a moment Chazz shrugs and crawls over him to get to the opposite side. Jesse grins and lays down completely. He stares up at the ceiling for a few minutes, thinking about Chazz's family, how he agreed to be here for two weeks. He decides to tell Chazz about Jaden. His phone buzzes.

_hey_  
_ ate the last of ur noods_  
_ should i just go home?_

_ sry got caught up_  
_ bbl  
_

_k_  
_ later isnt less vague than soon_

Jesse puts his phone on silent and set it on the side table.

"Hey, Chazz?"

It's quiet for nearly a minute, which is long enough for Jesse to get too nervous to say what he wants to.

"What?" Chazz grumbles.

"Doesn't your family have helicopters and personal jets?"

Jesse has been wondering all day. He's sure he remembers Chazz not only being absurdly rich, but a show off about it as well.

"Yeah, why?"

"Why were you flying a commercial airline, then?" Jesse asks.

"I'm trying not to rely on my family," Chazz explains, sounding embarrassed. "I want to use just what I earn for myself."

Jesse isn't sure why Chazz is embarrassed - he thinks that's a commendable decision.

"Good for you," Jesse tells him. "And to think, if you hadn't taken a normal plane, we wouldn't be getting to know each other right now!"

"Yeah. It's been nothing but delightful so far."

"Oh, hush." Jesse slaps his shoulder lightly. "We'll find something fun to do. You just need a nap."

"You would have to shut up first," Chazz says, but he doesn't sound all that irritated anymore.

Jesse smiles and doesn't say anything else. He looks around the room, reading the inscriptions on nearby trophies and looking at the duelists a teenage Chazz thought were worthy of framing and hanging on his walls. Mostly, Jesse tries not to think about how not taking the opportunity to tell Chazz the truth now will only make it worse when he is forced to explain later.


	3. Deck the Halls

Chazz wakes up to a dark room and his face pressed against Jesse's chest. Jesse snores softly into Chazz's hair, his leg is slung over Chazz's waist, and their arms are wrapped around each other.

Chazz is both mortified and cozy. He knows he should move, but he doesn't. He considers staying like this, falling back asleep in this warm and comforting embrace, but imagining Jesse waking up to them like this embarrasses him.

Moving slowly, Chazz gently moves Jesse's leg then begins to wiggle his way out of Jesse's grip.

There's a knock at the door and Chazz freezes. Jesse doesn't even stir, so Chazz pulls away, letting him roll onto his back where he continues to sleep.

Chazz gets up and answers the door. His stepfather is smiling at him on the other side and he would much rather be embarrassed cuddling Jesse, than talking to this man.

"Hey, buddy."

"It's The Chazz." Chazz has explained this many times before. He wants to keep their relationship formal.

"You're an odd duck, kiddo. It's dinner time. Your mom sent me up to fetch the two of you." He looks past Chazz into the dark room and chuckles. "I'll tell her you'll be a little late?"

"Whatever." Chazz shuts the door in his face.

When he turns around, Jesse is sitting up, stretching and yawning, so Chazz flips on the light. Jesse squints and scrunches up his nose.

"Too bright," he says.

Chazz stares at him. His hair looks worse than usual and he has a goofy expression. Chazz realizes he finds him attractive, and he absolutely hates it.

Jesse smiles when they make eye contact, so Chazz glares back and looks away.

"It's dinner ti-"

Before Chazz finishes speaking, Jesse is up and trying to get past Chazz to get to the door. Chazz grabs him by the elbow.

"We can't go like this," Chazz says. Jesse looks down at himself and frowns.

"I don't have any other clothes."

"You can wear something of mine."

Ten minutes later, neither of them look as disheveled as before. They head downstairs where they find only a few people from earlier remaining.

"Hey Chazz," Jesse whispers. "who are those two?" He gestures with a nod in their direction.

"That's Beckett." Chazz's expression tells Jesse exactly how he feels about him. "He's my step-father as of last year."

Jesse nods. Chazz's contemptuous tone makes more sense to him now. He's heard how a lot of people have a hard time with their parents remarrying, and Chazz doesn't seem like the type to handle change very well.

Chazz looks at the woman next to Beckett. She had been at the piano when they had come in that afternoon.

"I don't know her," he says with a shrug.

With that, Jesse is gone from his side and approaching the two of them.

"Good evening!" Jesse says as he sits down.

"Well, welcome to the world of the living, Jesse! I'm Beck, and this is my daughter, Wren."

Chazz sighs. He looks around at his seating options. Jett is sitting at the far end of the table, speaking in hushed tones with Jagger and Slade. When they notice him looking, they turn and become so quiet that it doesn't sound like they're even speaking at all.

Rolling his eyes, Chazz slides into the chair next to his mother. She smiles then orders the maid to get both him and Jesse their dinners, before resuming her conversation with Marelia as if he wasn't there. Chazz leans on the table, bored, and sort of listens in on Jesse's conversation.

Chazz isn't surprised someone like Jesse would want to talk to someone like his step-father. They both had that sort of cheerfully annoying personality. Except Jesse is a decent person. Not that Chazz really knows him all that well, but he seems like one anyway. He doesn't really know Beck all that well either, but he has his biases and he's not going to apologize for that.

The food comes and Chazz isn't all that hungry.

"Thanks," he mutters. He picks at his food and focuses in on Jett's conversation with his brothers. It is at least marginally more interesting than the small talk Jesse is making.

Jesse, on the other hand, has been hungry since he woke up on the plane, but having gotten wrapped in a scheme with Chazz had distracted him. So he is much more excited when a full plate of food is placed in front of him. He digs in and stops only to respond to the conversation.

They spend the next hour discussing Wren's brief stint in the dueling world before going to medical school. Beck is also a doctor, but says he had always been far more interested in the dueling world. He tells Jesse about how he retired several years ago in the North, and has been trying to build a deck that speaks to him.

"Chazz talks to his monsters," Jesse tells him. He wants to include Chazz, now that he's found something he and Beck have in common. Jesse figures the two just need a chance to chat properly.

"If you insist on talking to him," Chazz scoffs, "at least leave me out of it."

"Hey-" Jesse starts to scold Chazz, but Beck interrupts him.

"Chazz- The Chazz, I mean," he says, winking at Chazz. "We're still a work in progress. Like you two have been."

Jesse chuckles, trying not to sound as awkward as he feels.

"Everyone likes my dad eventually," Wren tells him.

Jesse smiles, but he gets the impression that outside their mother, the Princeton family might never like Beckett. Something tells him he might grow on Chazz, though. Jesse doesn't know him too well, but he doesn't seem quite as rude and snobbish as his brothers, at least.

"Jesse," Charlotte says, standing up. "I wanted to speak with you alone. Would you mind coming with me."

"Mother-" Chazz says, getting to his feet. She holds her hand up.

"Stay and talk with me, Chazz," Marelia says.

Chazz clenches his jaw and tries to smile politely. He would rather not do that, and not just because he doesn't want Jesse and his mother having a private conversation.

He glances at Jesse, who just gives him a thumbs up before getting up and following Charlotte out of the dining room.

She leads Jesse into a living room. It's different than the one where they had met earlier.

"Rich folks are wild," he mutters.

Dotty is sitting in a chair that looks as old as she is. Jesse smiles at her, but she just nods with a neutral expression. He feels like he's in a scene in a movie, but he's not sure if he's about to be bribed or have his life threatened.

"Take a seat." Charlotte points to a chair across from Dotty, before taking a seat beside her mother. They both stare silently at him for just long enough that he starts to fidget. Then Charlotte finally breaks the silence.

"My Chazz deserves better than a 'Oh, before I forget' sort of proposal," she begins.

Jesse opens his mouth to tell her that it definitely wasn't like that, but Dotty shushes him. Charlotte continues.

"He's a soft boy, that has gone above and beyond to shower you with affection. And all I ever hear about you is that you've taken off without a word, or you can't even say 'I love you' without prompting," she explains, her face tense as she maintains uncomfortable eye contact with him.

Jesse feels like a jerk. He isn't the one that did anything, but they're upset with him for it, which makes him feel responsible.

"He deserves to be proposed to like he would've proposed to you," Dotty says. "If you want to be accepted into this family, you need to prove you actually want to be here. You have two days to come up with a better proposal."

"Propose-" Jesse stops, realizing he should focus his concern to the time-frame not the action, at least aloud. "Two days?"

"Christmas Eve is one of the most romantic days of the year. It'd be a perfect gift," Dotty explains. "You have access to anything around here. If you need money-"

"Oh, no I-" Jesse starts, but Dotty cuts him off.

"This isn't about you."

"Do you love him or not?" Charlotte asks.

"Of course," Jesse says. "I just didn't realize it was that important to him. I can do big romantic gestures."

Lying feels awful in this moment, but he would definitely feel worse to stop lying now. Based on their intensity and interest in this relationship, Jesse can see why Chazz wants them to think he's doing okay.

"Anything romantic at all would suffice," Charlotte snaps. "It's ok if you aren't that kind of person, but just try for important things like this please. I think he'd be a little happier if you made at least some effort."

Jesse knows proposing to Chazz will not make him feel better. If anything it might just make him feel worse. But he can't really refuse, and maybe the hilarity of it all will lift Chazz's spirits. Jesse decides to just look on the bright side.

"I sure am glad you said something. I'd already been fixin' to do something a little more exciting, so I can make it happen. I like a heartfelt proposal as much as the next guy," he says.

"Really?"

"Of course. I reckon communication is on our 'what to work on before the wedding' list, ain't it?" Jesse chuckles, standing up.

"I would certainly recommend it," Charlotte says. Her tone is serious but her expression is softer. Jesse is pleased that he said the right thing, but he hates that he's inevitably going to disappoint a mother that clearly loves her son very much.

With that all said and done, Dotty heads to bed and Charlotte leads Jesse back to Chazz and the others.

Jesse wonders if he should even tell Chazz what he was tasked with. If he expects it, it might look fake. As proven earlier, Chazz is not a particularly skilled liar. Then again, if he isn't expecting it, he might be too mortified to go along with it in a convincing way.

When they find the group, everyone is standing by the front door. Chazz looks relieved to see him. Jesse smiles.

"So do you two plan on having kids?" Marelia asks.

"I don't know." Chazz sounds like he's being tortured.

"You should have that sort of thing-."

"Would he be interested in a duel?" Jett interrupts her. "I'd like to see his Crystal Beasts-"

"It's Christmas, Jett," Charlotte says, approaching the group. "And the boy just got engaged. I think he'd rather spend time with Chazz than dueling you."

As Jesse makes his way over to Chazz he realizes, oh, this is the opportunity to show Charlotte he can be affectionate. So when he stops beside him, he takes Chazz's hand in his.

"I'm always down to duel," Jesse says. He had come here looking for a match, after all.

Chazz stares at their hands for a moment before adjusting his hand and lacing their fingers together.

"No dueling," Chazz says. His mother always hated when they talked about duels during the holidays. And if anyone was going to duel Jesse, it was going to be him.

"We'll talk again later," Jett says.

"We were just heading out for a drink on the patio," Marelia tells them. "Care to join us?"

"Sounds-" Jesse begins.

"No, thank you." Chazz pulls Jesse toward another hallway.

"Sounds nice, but we have other plans?" Jesse finishes, giving Chazz a puzzled look.

"I want to show him around," Chazz explains to a confused group. "He was looking forward to seeing the library."

"Yeah, I've really been looking forward to it." Jesse grins. He is definitely looking forward to it now.

"You only just arrived this afternoon and you slept for most of that time," Charlotte says. "Why don't you wait to-"

Marelia chuckles and everyone's attention turns to her.

"Sorry," she says and points over Chazz and Jesse. "I just noticed the mistletoe."

Chazz and Jesse look up. While they could ignore it, in light of his conversation with Charlotte, Jesse thinks it's important to follow tradition. Chazz also thinks it might be weird not to do anything, considering the skeptical conversation earlier that day. They are supposed to be in love after all.

Both have the same thought: a kiss on the cheek is a perfectly appropriate thing to do in front of a group. They turn to kiss the other at the same time and their noses bump uncomfortably and their lips touch. It's sort of a kiss.

They pull back and Marelia chuckles.

"Got a little nervous there?"

"Oops." Jesse laughs and rubs at the back of his neck.

"It's almost like we've never kissed before," Chazz jokes. "Okay, well, we'll see you tomorrow."

He gives everyone a quick wave and pulls Jesse away before anyone finds a reason to stop them again.

It takes fifteen minutes to reach the library, which Jesse finds absolutely ridiculous.

"How much space does just a few people really need?"

"It's about appearance, not necessity," Chazz says.

"Oh, that makes sense. What's the point of money if you don't show off how well you waste it?" Jesse smiles politely when Chazz glares at him.

"It's theirs to waste," he says. Chazz opens the door to the library and Jesse's face lights up. "But are you really going to complain right now?"

Jesse can't believe how many books there are. And the card collection seems endless. He ignores the question and wanders into the room. In less than a half hour, Chazz loses track of him.

"Can we build decks out of these and duel?" Jesse calls out.

Chazz finds him in the aisles dedicated to the family's collection of cards.

"Can we?" Jesse asks again once he sees Chazz.

"Sure, why not?"

They spend the next two hours building decks for themselves. Jesse has a lot to say about every card he considers, and every card Chazz considers, which Chazz mostly ignores.

"Okay," Chazz says, sitting down on one of the chairs. "I'm finished."

"Me too!" Jesse sits down beside him. There's hardly any space between them. Only Chazz notices. He shifts a little, but decides against moving away.

"Show me your deck." Jesse holds out his hand, while holding his own deck out for Chazz to take. "We should talk strategies first, since we've never used these before."

Chazz nods and swaps decks with him.

"Bugs?" Chazz asks as he shifts through Jesse's cards.

"I like bugs. They're neat." Jesse holds up one of Chazz's fiend monsters. "I've never seen this fella before. He's cool. Hey! I know! We should play once, then swap and play again."

"Sounds good to me."

Jesse's excitement starts to rub off on Chazz. They end up talking about playing a lot longer than they mean to.

As they're shuffling their own decks, Jesse's phone buzzes in his pocket. Then it starts to ring. He casually ignores it in favor of reading one of Chazz's cards. When it stops and then begins to ring again, Chazz can't ignore it.

"Aren't you going to answer it?"

"That'd just be plumb rude, don't you think?" Jesse says, putting the deck down and drawing his cards. "We're about to start a game."

It stops and then starts ringing again.

"It's not rude, it's just annoying," Chazz says. "Obviously someone wants to talk to you. It's not like I'm going anywhere."

"Alriiiight," Jesse sighs and gets up. "I'll be right back."

He heads out of the library entirely before he takes out his phone and returns Jaden's calls. It only rings once.

"Where are you?"

"Hey, Jay," Jesse says cheerfully. "I'm out of town. Why, what's up?"

"Why would you leave town?"

"Apparently, I'm expected to go somewhere every time I get a plane ticket," he explains as he walks down the hall, observing some of the paintings on the walls. "So I went somewhere. Now I just gotta have a pro duel before I fly back."

"Well, could you hurry up? I'm bored. It's just me and your fish," Jaden complains. "Why do you have so many fish, anyway? Your living room is ninety percent water, man."

"You mind feeding them? It might be a hot minute before I get back."

"What is a 'hot minute'? Do I need to feed them for tonight, or for a week?" Jaden sounds annoyed.

Jesse doesn't care. He's also annoyed.

"Should I just go home?" Jaden asks after a moment.

"Can I ask you something?"

"I mean, I guess. But you haven't even answered any of-"

"If I were dating somebody and it was getting pretty serious, you'd expect I'd tell you about it, right?" Jesse asks, trying to keep his tone casual and pleasant.

There are several seconds of uncomfortable silence before Jaden responds.

"I guess I'd think it was pretty weird if you didn't," he says quietly.

Neither of them say anything. After a minute, Jesse sighs and gives in first.

"Good to know."

"What? Where are you?" Jaden asks.

"I'll see you soon," Jesse replies cheerfully. "Tell the fish I miss them."

"Jesse-"

Jesse ends the call then silences his phone. He lets out a sigh and turns around to see Wren standing there.

"Why, you startled me good," Jesse says and laughs.

"Everything alright?" she asks. Jesse puts his phone in his pocket.

"Yeah, just checking in on my fish."

"I see. You look a little upset," she says.

"My friend almost forgot to feed them. But don't worry, he's gonna get there in time," he tells her with a cheerful smile. She looks unconvinced.

"Alright." She shrugs. "Well, I'm headed to bed."

"Good night," Jesse says.

"Night."

Jesse takes a moment to himself, going over in his mind what Jaden might be thinking. He draws a blank no matter where he begins. He regrets being passive aggressive instead of just calling Jaden out for lying all this time. Jesse wonders if he feels at least a little like how he feels. And how Chazz feels. This thought makes him feel bad. Jesse takes out his phone to call Jaden back, but Chazz comes out of the library carrying their decks.

"Everything okay?" he asks.

"Finer than a frog's hair split three ways," Jesse says with a big smile. He reaches for his bug deck.

Chazz stares at him. Based on Jesse's expression, Chazz can only assume that answer means yes. He can't decide if he's more annoyed or charmed by how Jesse talks, so he settles on a little bit of both and just shrugs.

"Well, I'm going to bed. We can duel tomorrow night."

Chazz turns and starts down the hall. Jesse follows along behind him, looking through the cards as he walks.

"Oh, speaking of tomorrow night," he says, bumping into Chazz.

"Watch it."

"Sorry." Jesse puts the cards in his pocket and falls into step beside him. "At some point before Christmas, I'm gonna to do something that you ain't gonna like."

"What is it?" Chazz doesn't like it already.

"It's for your mom," Jesse says, shrugging. "I'm only saying something because I think you oughta be prepared, that way you can play along. But if I tell you more than that, your reaction might not be natural enough."

"I hate everything you're saying to me."

"What's new?" Jesse chuckles.

Chazz sighs and walks away. Jesse follows, humming quietly as he observes more of the decor and wonders why rich people spend money on ugly and boring art.

When they reach the room, Chazz starts putting blankets and pillows down onto the floor.

"Kicking me out of the bed?" Jesse asks. He grins at Chazz as he grabs one last blanket.

"No, I'm sleeping on the floor. You kick in your sleep," Chazz lies. He doesn't want to end up cuddling again.

"Really? Then I should be the one-"

"It's fine," Chazz says, laying down and covering up. "Go to sleep. We have a long day tomorrow."

"What for?"

"Christmas shopping. And we have to get the tree."

Jesse grins and gets into bed. With everything else happening, he had forgotten about all the fun things that go with Christmas. He loves buying presents and since he doesn't have a single thing for Chazz or his family, he does have a lot to do tomorrow.


	4. Holiday Preparations

Jesse tries on what feels like every single glove in the store. Chazz's mom and siblings had wandered off almost fifteen minutes ago and now it is just Chazz sighing dramatically while Jesse leads him through all the winter clothing, pretending not to hear him.

"Everything is so soft, I don't know how to choose!" Jesse says, grabbing another pair. He lays the previous pair across his shoulder and tries them on. The third person in ten minutes squeezes between them to get through the aisle. They don't even bother trying to not bump into him as go by.

"Do they both fit?" Chazz asks Jesse while glaring at the back of the person's head. The

"Yeah, but-"

Chazz pulls both pairs of gloves out of Jesse's hands.

"Merry Christmas. Let's go."

He tosses them in the basket with all of Jesse's new clothes then walks away. Jesse chuckles and follows him.

"Do you not like shopping?" he asks, touching all the jackets as they pass.

"Not when there are perfectly good online stores." Chazz moves closer to Jesse anytime they pass people.

Chazz doesn't really mind shopping with Jesse, though. His excitement is refreshing and having someone to walk and talk with that is just there for him is a nice change of pace.

As they pass the coats Jesse slows down, touching each of the ones with fluffy lining that grabs his attention. He slows down when he finds a lilac colored one but Chazz turns, grabs him by the elbow and pulls him along.

"I still need a coat," Jesse says.

"You're wearing a coat."

"This is a jacket. It's freezing outside." He shakes off a confused Chazz and goes back to the coat. "Don't worry, I just need the right size."

The right size ends up involving a retail worker and waiting ten minutes while they check the back. When yet another person bumps into Chazz, he huffs and leaves Jesse behind without a word. He pays for everything, then looks up the difference between a jacket and a coat while he waits outside.

His phone rings and he's only a little bit disappointed to see Syrus' name instead of Jaden's.

"What?"

"Merry Christmas to you too," Syrus says.

"That's two days away."

"My mom makes us lock up our phones when we're there. Sorry I thought of you."

"Merry Christmas," Chazz grumbles.

"I take it's not all that merry so far?"

"It's fine. I just hate shopping and-" he almost tells Syrus how long Jesse takes to shop. "-yeah."

"I haven't gotten ahold of him either," Syrus says, sounding glum.

"I wasn't even trying."

"Oh? Finally giving up?"

Chazz frowns.

"Well, that means no," Syrus says after a couple of seconds of silence. "Find someone to date while you're there."

"What? I literally just-"

"I'm ready!" Jesse says, walking up to Chazz. He has on his new coat already. "Thanks for buying those. I'll pay you back." Jesse has his new coat on. When he see Chazz on the phone, he puts his hand up to his mouth and whispers, "Oh. Sorry."

"Who's that?" Syrus asks. Jesse folds up his jacket and puts it in the bag and takes out his gloves.

"My brother. Bye." Chazz hangs up. "I said it was a gift. Don't worry about it."

"Well, then thank you," Jesse says with a smile.

Chazz's phone buzzes.

that sounded nothing like your brother

Step-brother

"Did your brother say where they are?" Jesse asks, looking around all the different stores. Chazz raises an eyebrow.

"No. You were with me when they took off."

"Oh, I thought you said that was your brother."

"I was talking to Syrus. I'll call my mom, though," Chazz tells him, unlocking his phone again. It buzzes with another message from Syrus.

i thought you had a step-sister

It's possible to have two step siblings

Chazz tries to call his mom, but she doesn't pick up. He tries again. This time Jesse just shrugs grabs his bags off the ground, and starts walking.

"Let's look for them, so we're not just standin' around," Jesse says and starts walking. Chazz follows slowly behind him. His phone buzzes twice.

whatever  
anyway find someone to kiss under the mistletoe or smth  
pretend you didn't waste two years on someone that probably just isn't that into you

Chazz considers blocking Syrus, but like always, he doesn't. It wouldn't be long before it was his turn to bully Syrus right back anyway, and it wasn't like he was wrong. It was just a little too on the nose for Chazz at the moment.

When he looks up Jesse is waiting patiently a little ways ahead.

"Can we check out that store?" he asks, pointing to a dinky thrift store.

"Why?" Chazz crinkles up his nose, but Jesse links their arms together and pulls him along.

"There's always little treasures to be found in places like that. And we don't have a clue as to where we're headed, so we might as well wander until she calls you back."

Chazz sighs, but lets himself be taken to the store at the end of the street. He watches Jesse out of the corner of his eye, wondering how much he regrets coming with him. He doesn't seem like he does, but Chazz knows this is much more awkward for him.

It's surprising to him how much he's actually enjoying Jesse's company, even if he is just as terrible about shopping as his mother.

Jesse notices Chazz looking at him. When he grins, Chazz thinks about what Syrus said so he unlinks their arms and steps away from Jesse to walk ahead.

"How long does this outing usually take?" Jesse asks as they enter the shop.

"You spent nearly an hour just picking boots and gloves."

"Marelia said it's supposed to snow tonight." Jesse says as he wanders over to a glass case full of little trinkets. "Your mom has been pickin' out 'stocking stuffers' for over two hours."

"It's just her tradition." Chazz follows. "We're usually arguing over which tree to get by now. After that we can go home and chill until tomorrow."

Jesse has never met anyone that spent so much on just the little gifts. He can't even imagine how expensive and cool the regular gifts will be. As they look around, Jesse realizes he probably needs to buy Chazz something.

"We probably need to exchange gifts," Chazz says as he stares at something rusty and unrecognizable.

"That's neat," Jesse says.

"Is it?"

Jesse shrugs.

"What do you think?" When Jesse looks confused Chazz adds, "Gifts."

"Definitely. I was just thinkin' the same thing. I want your mom to approve of me. Is that weird?"

Chazz thought it was nice, more than anything.

"A little," he says.

"What might she think is a good gift?"

"To give me? How should I know?"

"Do I get her something?"

"No, she just wants cookies left out," Chazz explains. He picks things up, examines them, and puts them back. He doesn't really understand the appeal of thrift stores.

"That's it?"

"You get gifts for kids and significant others. The stocking stuffers are just because she likes giving us stuff."

"What should we get each other then?" Jesse asks as he looks at a watercolor painting of a very old man, far older than Dotty for sure.

"Unfortunately something romantic," Chazz explains, hoping Jesse wasn't considering that painting for anything. "Especially if you want her to like it."

"I don't know why you say unfortunately, romantic gifts are fun!"

"If you're actually romantically involved."

"Agree to disagree," Jesse waves his hand dismissively. "We should just find something as we go and let it be a surprise."

Chazz doesn't think he's such a bad liar that he can't pretend to be surprised by a Christmas present, but Jesse seems to think so.

"I feel like you're holding the engagement story against me."

"I am. And it'll be fun! I'd like to see if I can get you something you like. Or at least something you don't hate."

"Fine."

"What's your favorite color?"

"I don't know? Purple, I guess. Why?"

"Just in case. And I like knowin' things about my friends."

Chazz's instinct is to say they're not friends. But he's let Jesse call them friends for two days now, and he's already such a good one that Chazz can't even pretend he doesn't want to be.

Jesse notices Chazz is smiling, and he thinks he might be winning him over. He doesn't know why it's been so difficult. There's no reason not to be friends, especially when you have the important things in common - like duel monsters and a mutual best friend.

"Okay," Chazz says. "What's your favorite?"

Chazz doesn't care about Jesse's favorite color. He doesn't care about his own. The enthusiasm Jesse has about inane things like color, however, is infectious.

"I'm torn between them."

"All of them?"

"Yep. But at this moment, if I have to choose, probably some kind of pink."

"Cool."

Chazz walks over to the other end of the store, looking at the items hanging from the wall. It's a lot of junk and ugly art, an original Duel Disk prototype catches his eye. He takes it down and holds it up for Jesse to see.

"Check this out."

Jesse laughs. "You gotta get it!"

"It probably doesn't work. It was a test product and it's like twenty years old."

"It's history! And it's cool. You can't just leave it here, Chazz."

"You were just complaining yesterday about buying pointless-"

"Creepy dragon statues in every dark corner and art that looks like Jaden painted them-" Jesse pauses and scratches the back of his head. "Sorry."

"You get it if you like it so much." Chazz pushes it into his hands and walks away.

"Chazz, wait." Jesse sets it down and hurries out after him. "Slow down."

They turn the corner and Chazz's mom is standing there. His brothers are beside her holding at three and four bags each.

"That's a lot of stocking stuffers," Jesse says.

"I found some extra gifts."

"Can we go get the tree now?" Chazz demands. Jesse frowns at him, but Chazz is avoiding looking at anyone except his mother.

"Sure," Charlotte says, sounding a little taken aback. "Go with your brothers. Jesse and I have something to do."

"Great," Chazz says and walks away to wait for the car to come around.

Chazz knows he overreacted and that he should probably go tell Jesse it's fine, because it should be. But he had been enjoying himself so much he had forgotten that he was hanging out with Jaden's friend, not his own. He had almost forgotten that he was supposed to be sad.

Chazz scrunches up his face, lingering on that thought a little longer. He isn't entirely sure he's been sad at all. Just frustrated. That seems like the wrong feeling, but he doesn't get a chance to think too hard about it before Slade and Jagger are there. They looked smug, as if his bad mood meant they had won something.

The three of them leave for the Christmas tree farm, leaving Jesse alone with Charlotte once more. He looks over at her and she frowns. Jesse shifts awkwardly.

"He's just moody," Jesse says. "I don't think he got a lot of sleep."

"And he hardly ate dinner or breakfast. What's going on?"

"He just wants me to make a good impression, and I think those two stress him out," Jesse explains. It's not a lie, but he feels bad. Jesse likes her and the more he gets to know her, the less he feels like he's actually helping Chazz.

"I'll have to talk to him. I haven't really had the chance yet," she says with the same frown on her face.

"Why does everyone look so upset?" Wren's voice comes from behind them. Charlotte smiles and turns around.

"No one's upset," she says. "We're trying to figure out which store to find the right ring at."

"Ring?" Jesse and Wren ask at the same time.

"Shouldn't he have already gotten one?" Wren asks, looking at Jesse.

Jesse chuckles and scratches the back of his neck. He didn't expect something so traditional and he wonders if Chazz expects it either.

"I just plumb forgot. But I'll find something later."

"You'll only be here until New Years," Charlotte says. "If I'm going to pay for it, I'm going to help pick it out."

"Oh, no. That's not necess-"

"Of course it is," she says. "I'll be taking Chazz to pick out one when it's time for the ceremony. Someone needs to keep you both on track. And my gift is financing the whole thing."

Jesse doesn't understand the fixation with marriage and weddings. It seems entirely unromantic to him to stress about planning something romantic. Despite this, he smiles and nods. He doesn't want he spending money on something fake, but it's important to her, so he figures he should go along with it for the ruse.

While Charlotte seems satisfied, Wren is looking at him with appears to be skepticism. When he smiles, however, she smiles back.

"Let's go," Charlotte says, and starts leading the way to whichever store she must have decided on for them. Wren walks beside her and they start discussing the engagement, then quickly move on to Wren's own romantic life.

It doesn't take long for them to switch over to general family gossip. Seeing as he doesn't know anyone, Jesse has very little interest in the topic. He falls behind, staring into shop windows and trying to imagine how the next two weeks were going to play out, and thinking that maybe he had gotten a little in over his head.

Jesse takes out his phone to check the time and finds a few texts from Jaden.

ur gonna need grocerys  
i made a new deck  
duel when ur back?  
tmw?

nope  
still stuck  
be back asap

He wonders if he and Chazz can come up with an excuse to leave after Christmas. There are many reasons a newly engaged couple won't want to stay with the family through New Years, considering what a romantic holiday it is.

His phone buzzes.

did you duel?  
not yet

find someone 😎  
r there any chill pros  
its hardly fun these days  
i should get a rematch with zane

never been chill in his life  
call aster

what about ur pal chazz

There isn't an immediate response. Jesse looks up to see Wren staring at him. He hadn't realized how much he had slowed down while trying to type.

"Who you ignoring us for?" she asks. Charlotte is standing a ways ahead in front of the entrance to a store.

"The friend with my fish." Jesse shrugs and puts his phone away.

"Did one escape?"

"I…" Jesse raises an eyebrow, then he realizes how frustrated he probably looks. He certainly feels that way. "Aha no. I'm just thinkin' about Chazz."

It isn't a lie, but Wren doesn't look like she believes him.

"Ah."

They smile at each other and walk into the store together. Charlotte is already talking to an employee and pointing at different cases. Jesse's phone buzzes. Wren has already walked ahead, so he takes the time to stop and read. It's a phone number.

thats aster

cool  
and chazzs number

Charlotte appears beside him.

"Put your phone away and keep up. I found something nice."

Jesse does as she says, but he shakes his head. He still wants to avoid buying anything.

"I… wanted something a little more personal-"

"Get it engraved. You're proposing tomorrow, you don't have a lot of time to be picky."

While he finds the whole thing sweet, she is definitely the most stressful part of this trip. He can't imagine Jaden would have handled people this intense and involved in his life very well.

Jesse wonder how Chazz is with this sort of thing, and a part of him would like to find out. The idea that someone as bad-tempered as him being so invested in a romance sounds charming.

They certainly have enough time and arranged opportunities to do romantic things.

"He's worried about money, Char," Wren says, as if she knew it for a fact.

Jesse frowns.

"No, if it's important to you, I won't make a fuss of it," he says.

Charlotte leads them around and Jesse lets her point out things she thinks Chazz would actually wear. He wants to get an idea of what she considers his tastes before he dares to make any suggestions himself. Maybe, he thinks, it would be better to make this more fun rather than trying to get out of it.

"Are you two fighting?" Jagger asks. The three of them walk into the tree farm, with Chazz walking just a little faster so that he can keep ahead. He ignores them. There's nothing to gain from engaging with them, he'll only get more irritated that he already is.

"He's just going to leave, Chazz. Stop wasting everyone's time," Slade says.

Chazz used to just outrun them when they were bullying him. He was always just fast enough to get away and hide until they got bored, but he's an adult now. Which means he's probably faster, and they probably wouldn't bother chasing him. So he runs.

"Chazz!"

Chazz turns down two different rows of trees before he slows down. He pulls out his phone to call his mom - maybe she'll speed up whatever she's doing if he sounds sad enough. It usually works with her, but he isn't sure about this time, since she has Jesse there.

When he unlocks his phone he sees a text notification from Jaden. It had been there for a half hour. He's not sure how he missed it, but he's sort of glad he did. Jaden got to wait this time, and Chazz would have responded angrily and immediately had he seen it when it came in.

All it reads is 'hey'. Chazz puts his phone back in his pocket and decides to go find his brothers. They had trees to argue over. If Chazz wanted this to be a normal holiday, they were going to have to fight over the tree for an hour until they settle it with a duel.

He finds his brothers and they look around. They keep the conversation to a minimum and focused on the pros and cons of different trees.

"Let's get this one," Chazz says. They're already looking at the tree next to the one he points at.

"It's basically bare, and it tilts weird. Absolutely not," Jagger says. "This one is fuller. We'll get this one."

"We have to agree, and I don't agree." Chazz folds his arms over his chest.

"Why do you always want the ugly trees?" Slade sighs. "You're just doing it to be contrary. That's not a good reason to get an ugly tree."

"I don't think it's ugly, and it'll be easier to decorate."

"Well," Jagger says. "The duel disks are in the car."

He turns and starts walking away. Chazz and Slade follow him.

"Since we agree on the tree, it's you against us," Slade tells him.

"That's not fair," Chazz complains. They always agree, and they always gang up on him and win. "Can we just do one on one for once?"

"It's two against one to begin with," Slade says as Jagger hands them both a duel disk. "You're lucky you're getting a chance at all by dueling for it, Chazz."

"Too bad your fiance would rather hang out with our mother than you. You could've had a partner this time," Jagger says.

Everyone takes their position. Despite Chazz's protests, and his brothers ganging up on him every time, this was one of Chazz's favorite traditions. He always feels like he and his brothers are actually kind of getting along when they duel for the Christmas tree.

Four turns in and a small crowd later, a car rolls up and his mother, Jesse, and Wren get out.

"A duel?" Jesse says, running over to them with a giant grin on his face. He looks back at Charlotte. "I thought we weren't supposed to?"

Charlotte shrugs.

"It happens every year. They never agree on the tree, and I'd rather they duel for it and have fun, then argue and leave with two or three trees."

"There's a duel disk right there," Chazz tells him. "We're partners."

"Really? We've already started," Jagger complains, but Jesse already has the duel disk on and is pulling his deck of his belt. "Why did you even bring those? You didn't know there'd be a duel!"

"I'm always ready to duel," Jesse says. "Who's turn is it?"

"Mine," Chazz says.

"What if you don't like the tree Chazz picked out?" Jagger asks.

"My opinion doesn't really matter since I'm just jumping in, now does it?" Jesse says. "Stop tryin' to talk me outta winning and let's duel."

He winks at Chazz, who grins at Jesse before drawing his card.

It's been three Christmases since Chazz has won a duel for the tree. Now he sits across from his brothers on the ride home, with a smug grin on his face as the tree he and Jesse won sits on the top of the car.

When they get back home, they leave the tree for one of their employees to get down, and they head into the foyer. .

"I'm heading out with Beck," Charlotte says, giving each of her sons a quick hug. She pats Wren on the shoulder, then pulls Jesse into a hug and whispers into his ear. "Thank you."

Jesse pats her on the back and tries to avoid looking at Chazz. She lets go and leaves.

"I have work to do," Jagger says, and takes off. Slade doesn't bother giving an excuse, and just gives them a short wave before leaving the room.

"I'm headed out for the night. See you tomorrow for dinner," Wren says. She gives Jesse a look he doesn't quite understand before she waves and heads out the front door.

"I don't think she likes me much," Jesse says.

"Who cares?" Chazz says, shrugging. "My mom seems to like you, and that's what matters."

"Yeah…" Jesse says, frowning without meaning to.

"She isn't going to know. If it makes you feel better, when I explain our fake breakup in a few months, I'll make you sound awesome."

"You getting married is real important to her," Jesse says. "Why is that? Your brother's aren't married, are they?"

"Slade's been divorced twice. Jagger is just sort of a serial dater," Chazz explains. He gestures to the stairs, and they start walking toward the bedroom. "She's just old fashioned and... since I want that kind of relationship, she fixates on me since there's no point bothering with them."

Jesse nods. It makes sense to him now, except the part where Jaden was meant to be involved. He is struggling to imagine Jaden making a good impression on Charlotte specifically.

"Where did she take you?" Chazz asks.

Jesse considers telling him about the proposal he has to do, but then he thinks about how transparent Chazz has shown to be with everything.

"It's for that thing I mentioned," he says. "Just let it be a surprise, I think she's testing me and I want you to actually seem surprised. You'll know by the end of tomorrow."

Chazz has a few ideas of what his mom has talked Jesse into doing - all of them ending with him embarrassed.

When they get into the bedroom, Jesse sits down on the floor where Chazz's blankets from the night before still lay.

Chazz sighs.

"Let's make a pillow wall," he says and starts rearranging the extra pillows on the bed. Jesse hops up and tosses the blankets onto the bed as well.

After they both take turns changing, Jesse hops onto the bed and leans back against the frame, playing with his phone.

Chazz lays down and stares at the ceiling. After a moment he sighs again.

"Sorry I was a jerk earlier."

"It's fine," Jesse says. He smiles and puts his phone on the nightstand. "I broke my promise, so I should be the one apologizing."

"Why are you staying here?" Chazz asks. "I appreciate it but this must be so weird for you."

"Well, I don't want to leave you high and dry when I started the whole thing."

"You don't owe me anything. You hardly know me."

"It's weird, but it's kind of fun, too." Jesse sits up a little to smile at Chazz over the pillow wall. "And when you're not moping about, I think you're pretty cool."

Chazz can't think of a time he had been particularly cool recently, but he appreciates being told otherwise. Jesse's positivity was becoming his favorite thing about him.

"You know what would be fun? If we just get real in character for this whole thing. You might feel a little better," Jesse says.

"Just be a couple when we're out there?" Chazz points at the door. Jesse nods and grins.

"We can act real cute. Maybe ham it up. If we're goin' to be fake engaged, we might as well- Oh!"

"What?"

"Let me take you out tomorrow," Jesse says. The proposal is only part of why he asks. "Christmas Eve is a romantic day, I hear. Reckon it'd look real good and I'm a fantastic date."

Chazz stares at him for a moment. A fake date might just feel like a real date if it's just the two of them. He remembers what Syrus says, and he wonders if maybe Jesse was that opportunity. A safe, platonic distraction. It sounds nice.

"Okay. If it's not fantastic, then you get the floor the rest of our time here," Chazz says, shrugging.

"What do I get if you love it?"

There's an awkward pause, then Jesse's phone buzzes. Chazz fixes the pillow wall and turns on his side.

"My standards are high, so it won't really matter," he says. Jesse chuckles and picks up his phone. There's a message from Jaden. It's just a phone number.

Jesse doesn't send a response. He locks his phone, sets it to the side, and lays down.

Also on his phone, Chazz pulls up the message from Jaden. There's nothing new. He stares at the one word for a long moment, before he decides to take Syrus' advice - give up on Jaden. So he goes through and deletes him entirely from his phone.

For the next two weeks Jesse is his fiance and Chazz is determined to enjoy their engagement.


	5. Dueling! On Ice

Jesse and Chazz spend the earlier part of the day seperated in town getting each other's Christmas presents. Chazz had already decided on what to get Jese the night before, so he has time to get it wrapped at a nearby shop and stick it in the back of the car. Jesse, on the other hand, takes a lot longer because he wants to look around before he makes a decision. Chazz waits in the car, getting impatient after fifteen minutes, and falling asleep after thirty. An hour and a half later, Chazz wakes up to the sound of Jesse closing the trunk of the car.

"Okay! Ready for our date," Jesse says. Chazz grumbles and crawls out of the car, letting Jesse lead the way through town.

"What's your plan?" Chazz asks once he catches up. Jesse is quiet for a moment, like he's thinking about it. "Did you not plan anything?"

They walk past an ice rink, and Jesse stops and points at it excitedly.

"That's my plan," he says, and grabs Chazz by the arm. "Ice skating is fun, and definitely romantic."

"It is neither of those things," Chazz says, though he lets himself be pulled.

"That just means you're not good at it," Jesse tells him, then orders them both a pair of skates. "Fortunately for you, I'm very good at ice skating. I'll teach you!"

Chazz loses his balance as soon as he steps out onto the ice. He knows that no one is paying him any attention, but as his skates clank loudly against the ice and he frantically clings to the wall, he feels embarrassed anyway.

"I'm going to fall," he says. "Let's do something else."

"I'll hold you up," Jesse says. He smiles and holds out his hand. Chazz doesn't take it.

"Then we'll both fall. Which will look twice as stupid."

Jesse sighs. "Just relax. It gets easier once you start moving."

Chazz grumbles and takes Jesse's hand.

Jesse moves slow, his back to the rink as he guides Chazz out onto the ice. His smile is contagious and it doesn't take long before Chazz is enjoying himself. Jesse turns after a minute to skate alongside Chazz. They're going slow and Chazz is still a little wobbly, but he is more comfortable with moving now. He realizes it's a little easier to do if he treats it like walking.

Everything around them is sparkling and festive and the music playing is something instrumental and relaxing. As he and Jesse continue to hold hands, Chazz thinks Jesse was already winning - this is pretty romantic.

"You seem comfortable," Chazz says, trying not to think too hard about it. "With skating, I mean. You do this often?"

"It's been a minute." Jesse shrugs. "I used to duel on ice."

Chazz raises an eyebrow. He's never heard of such a thing, but Jesse seems to think that was a completely normal thing to say since he doesn't elaborate.

"What? How does that work?"

Jesse laughs.

"Not very well. It didn't really take off. I was pretty good at it."

"Of course you were."

Chazz's tone is more critical than he meant for it to sound, but Jesse just smiles and shrugs.

"I'll show you," Jesse offers. "We have that duel here. That'd get some media attention, for sure."

"I can hardly skate. You're still holding me up," Chazz says.

"You've been skating on your own, we're just holding hands now," Jesse says with a chuckle. "And I didn't mean tonight."

Embarrassed, Chazz lets go of Jesse's hand. He is in fact holding himself up, and though he's wobbling a little and watching his feet more than where he's going, he is skating rather well without help.

"See," Jesse says excitedly, turning around and skating backward in front of Chazz. "You're doing great! With a few days of practice, I reckon you'll be a pro."

"Stop showing off." Chazz glares at him. Grinning, Jesse turns back around and skates alongside him.

After a few laps, Chazz feels even more comfortable. He looks away from the ice longer and engages in conversation without worrying too much about falling.

Jesse skates a little closer as he talks about the mechanics of dueling on ice. His enthusiasm catches on and Chazz is actually considering trying it. As Jesse skates closer, Chazz's focus shifts from the subject to the fact that the backs of their hands keep accidentally brushing against each other. Chazz sort of wants to hold his hand again. Just as he considers it, Jesse takes his hand.

"We can call an official match after Christmas," Jesse says, as if nothing happened.

"Yeah," Chazz says, staring at their hands, wondering what it meant, or if it meant anything at all. It takes him a moment to realize what Jesse is saying, and while he's inclined to agree, he remembers that he has another week with his parents, and they should probably also figure out how to send Jesse home without it looking bad for their fake relationship.

"We should probably come up with an excuse for why you're leaving after that, so you don't get stuck hanging out with my family for another week," Chazz says.

Jesse shrugs but doesn't respond. He knows he should go home after Christmas. Despite his frustration, he shouldn't leave Jaden waiting indefinitely for him to return. And since their scheme worked, there isn't any reason to be at Chazz's house after tomorrow. But he's having fun, especially at the moment, and he doesn't really want to think about it ending soon. Not to mention, Jesse has become rather fond of Chazz and at least some of his family. He isn't particularly excited to say goodbye for forever.

"Let's get hot chocolate," he says, coming to a stop near the exit. Chazz isn't quite sure how to stop and hits the wall beside him, pulling his hand away just in time to catch himself.

"Are you okay?" Jesse asks.

"I'm fine." Chazz pulls himself along the wall, slapping Jesse's hand away when he offers it. "Let's go. I hate this. Skating is stupid."

Jesse just chuckles again and follows him off the ice and to the nearest bench.

"Don't worry," Jesse says, as they take their skates off. "First thing I'll show you next time is how to stop. Probably should've started with that today."

"Probably."

They head down the sidewalk, walking quietly for a while. Jesse stops to buy a disposable camera and starts taking pictures of the lights and the decorated streets. He's having so much fun that Chazz starts having fun again as well. Chazz buys them both hot cocoa and they sit near the large Christmas tree in the town center to drink while they chat.

"You seem excited for all this," Chazz says, gesturing around them.

Jesse shrugs, smiling around at the festivities.

"I don't get out much around Christmas. I really only see this in the movies."

"I guess it'd be pretty boring wandering around on your own" Chazz says. He doesn't particularly enjoy visiting home during the holidays, but he figures it's a whole other kind of lonely just having no one to visit at all. Jesse just shrugs again.

"Is this your favorite holiday?" he asks.

"No, I prefer Valentine's Day," Chazz says, earning him a grin. "What?"

"You're so-" Jesse makes a scowling face at him as an impression, "- all the time, but then you sound like a romantic."

"Whatever. What's your favorite holiday?"

"Hmm-"

"And you can't say all of them."

"How'd you know!" Jesse laughs. "I like Valentine's Day a lot, too. Everything is pretty and pink, and there's always someone to go out with."

Jesse had almost forgotten he was meant to propose for Charlotte.

"Are you actually a big 'public displays of affection' guy? The way your mom talks-"

"No. Well, I don't know," Chazz says.

He knows he gets a little overenthusiastic when he's feeling romantic, but he isn't sure how he feels about it. No one's ever done anything like that for him.

"She just thinks that because I have, on occasion, done a grand romantic gesture. But I don't really like the attention on me-"

Jesse laughs before he can stop himself. Chazz glares.

"I mean _that_ kind of attention. There's a difference,"

"That's true."

"Why are you asking? You don't have to impress my mom, you know."

"She's kinda intimidating." Jesse says. "And I like her. I want her to think you've got a good fiance."

"In like two days you'll never see her again. I can have an average fiance, it's fine. Anything you do now will sound better than what she's heard up to this point."

Jesse frowns. He's curious what happened with Jaden, and especially what dating him was even like. But it wasn't his place, and he had promised a fun, Jaden free day. Which definitely didn't include something as awkward as proposing in front of Chazz's mother.

Jesse pulls the small box out of his pocket and hands it to Chazz.

"Your mom bought you an engagement ring," Jesse explains as Chazz opens it. "She made me pick it out and promise to do some romantic proposal. I've been worrying about how to do it so that she approves, while not _completely_ embarrassing you-"

"Oh." Chazz is both relieved and a little mortified. "You were just going to surprise me with that? That would've been awful!"

"But!" Jesse says, smiling awkwardly. "It's not like she's here, so there's no reason we can't just agree on a romantic story to tell. Unlike last time."

Chazz tsks and puts the ring on. "Sounds like a plan. I can't believe she had you re-proposing."

"She really wants you to be happy. It's sweet."

Chazz sighs. "Let's go," he says, standing up to throw his cup away. Jesse hops up and does the same. The two of them walk down the sidewalk as Chazz leads them back to the car.

"Let's take a carriage!" Jesse points at a horse drawn carriage that's pulled over to let a couple out. Chazz frowns.

"Why would we do that?"

"We're on a date-"

"You don't need to prove-"

"Pretty sure I told you I was going to give you a romantic date," Jesse says, nudging Chazz. "Top notch experience. You challenged me."

"I don't know that it was specifically a challenge-" Chazz begins, but Jesse takes his hand and pulls him across the road.

Chazz allows himself to be dragged to the carriage. Inside there's barely enough space for two people two sit at a comfortable, friendly distance. Jesse doesn't seem bothered though as he climbs inside. Chazz gets in hesitantly after him.

Chazz can't think of the last time he's been on a date. He and Jaden never really went out, Jaden wanted to go see duels, but it would always somehow turn into a group activity. At home they just sort of… hung out. None of this hand holding, or skating together, or even really spending time specifically together rather than just near each other.

The lights are turning on around businesses and there are carolers, but all Chazz can think about is how Jesse is pressed against his side and he smells strangely good. It's starting to not feel as platonic as he had been going for and he gets nervous - Jaden's friend is not a person he needs to be developing any sort of crush on.

"This place is really cool. You're so lucky you get to see it every year!" Jesse says.

Chazz shrugs. "I usually stay at the house. I don't really have a reason to come to town."

Jesse turns to look at Chazz, regretting it immediately. He hadn't considered just how close their faces would be. He doesn't want to make it weird, so he just pretends not to notice.

"Why? That's boring! There's so many fun things to do."

"This wouldn't be very fun alone. Or with my family," Chazz says. He can't imagine ice skating with his mom or sitting in this carriage with either of his brothers. That would ruin Christmas more so than it usually was.

"So you're having fun?" Jesse grins.

"We're at the car," Chazz says. He pays for the ride and they head to the car.

They spend most of the ride back quiet, but when they reach the house, Jesse bounces alongside Chazz with a smug expression.

"So? Did I win?"

Chazz sighs and walks a little faster. He gets as far as the hallway before Jesse stops him.

"Yes," Chazz admits, irritably. "It was fun. You have a decent understanding of romance. Are you happy?"

"I am," Jesse says, grinning. He points up. "Caught under the mistletoe."

Chazz looks up then at Jesse. The awkward moment is interrupted by Wren.

"Hey, will you guys help me make cookies for Charlotte?" she asks, ignoring the obvious tension.

"Sure," Jesse says cheerfully. He looks at Chazz, who looks less than excited by the request.

"I'm actually tired. You two have fun." Chazz leaves faster than either of them can think of anything to say in response.

"Everything good?" Wren asks as Chazz disappears down the hall.

"Yeah. He's tired from all the ice skating, I guess," Jesse says with a smile and a shrug. "So, what kind of cookies are we making?"

Chazz wakes up to an empty room on Christmas morning. He can hear distant chatter and the distinct sound of Jesse's laughter. He was excited to exchange gifts with Jesse, but after their outing, he's just a little bit worried about how it will look.

He gets dressed quickly and hurries downstairs. Everyone is gathered in the living room, split up into little groups and talking amongst themselves. Jesse is close to the Christmas tree, chatting with Chazz's mother and grandmother.

"-doesn't know how to ice skate," Jesse says, chuckling. "I'm going to teach him tomorrow."

"Chazzy!" His mom perks up when she notices him. She waves him over and he is forced to walk through conversations on the way over to her. She pats the seat beside her so he sits down and looks at Jesse, who is smiling at him. Chazz smiles back.

"I heard you had a good time yesterday," she says. Chazz just nods and smiles, assuming Jesse already told her some story about his upgraded proposal.

After a half hour of chitchat, presents are passed out to the kids, while colorful scarves, gloves, and hats are passed out for the adults from Charlotte.

Chazz reaches for the box he had put under the tree and hands it to Jesse.

"That duel disk!" Jesse grins as he opens it and pulls out the antique they found the other day. "Didn't you say you thought it was junk?"

"Sure, but you seemed really excited about it."

"Thank you, Chazz." Jesse says, gleefully examining it.

"I figure we can fix it up and make it look nice. You can hang it up or something and it won't look like trash on your wall."

Jesse chuckles. "An activity for the both of us? That's really thoughtful."

Chazz is pretty sure he turns a little red. He hadn't really considered what 'we' meant, but it seems he did just make plans for them to spend more time together than what was already planned.

Jesse sets his duel disk down and grabs the gift he got for Chazz.

"Merry Christmas!" he says, handing it to him. Chazz rolls his eyes, but he smiles as he takes it.

Inside the neatly wrapped gift is a new, leather card box with gold trim, and inside that is a matching deck pouch. Chazz grins.

"This is really nice," he says, thinking about the same worn out ones he's been using for his cards since school. "Thanks."

Both are impressed with each other's gifts, and pleased with themselves for getting the other something they liked. Once everyone finishes gift exchanges and showing each other what they got, they eat breakfast before breaking off into groups once again.

Beckett talks Jesse into a duel with his Crystal Beasts. Instead of pulling out duel disks, they sit down at the coffee table and do it "old school" as Beckett puts it. Almost immediately, everyone except Chazz, his brothers, and Wren disperse. Jett also hangs around for a little while, but Beckett is dueling so poorly that he gets frustrated and heads out as well.

Chazz feels his phone buzzing in his pocket. There are a few texts, one from Syrus asking if he found anyone to spend New Years Eve with, and then a couple Merry Christmases - one from Atticus and another from Alexis. Nothing else from Jaden's number. Chazz sighs, and tries to focus on Jesse's duel with Beckett.

Jesse's phone starts buzzing from the side table he left it on. Wren grabs it for him, but he waves his hand dismissively.

"Thanks, but you can just leave it," he says as he draws a card. "It's usually just one of those telemarketers callin' me."

"Right," she says and sets it back down.

Slade and Jagger leave after Rainbow Dragon is summoned, and not long after that Jesse wins the duel. Beckett is a good sport and excited just to have met a rare card.

"Next time the two of you visit we'll go again," he says confidently. "Just need some time to practice."

Jesse laughs, but he's a little sad knowing he's not ever going to get that rematch.

"I like the sound of that!" he says anyway.

"Well, let's go-" Chazz begins, but Wren is putting drinks down in front of the two of them before he finishes.

"Don't even think about it," she says, sitting back down next to Jesse. "You're always hurrying off. I think it's about time you got to know us, Chazz. And we'd like to get to know both of you."

"We are going to be family, after all," Beckett says.

Chazz sighs loudly and Jesse nudges his arm.

"Oh come on, they're right! And where were you running off to anyway? To hang out with your brothers?"

Chazz rolls his eyes but accepts the drink and leans back in his seat.

"Fine."

They spend the rest of the evening chatting and by the end of the night, Chazz is a little more tolerant of Beckett, but only just a little.

"He could definitely be more annoying," he tells Jesse as they head upstairs for the night.

Jesse wakes up to the sun coming in through the window. The ground is covered in snow still, but the clouds have parted and everything is sunny and shiny. Wanting to see it up close, Jesse gets dressed and heads downstairs.

Jett is at the end of the hall putting on his jacket. When he sees Jesse he gives him a smile that just falls short of passing as genuine.

"I thought you left last night?" Jesse asks as he approaches him.

"I did. I left something behind, and I have some work to do today."

Jesse nods.

"Why are you up so early?" Jett asks.

"I'm a morning person. And I think this might be the first day I've seen the sun." He decides not to mention being creeped out.

"Well, there's coffee brewing. I'll see you all at dinner."

Jesse smiles and waves. He has a feeling something was wrong but he can't place his finger on it, so he heads into the kitchen and pours himself a cup of coffee, waiting for the rest of the house to wake.

"Did you hear someone else this morning?" Chazz asks as he heads into the kitchen.

"Nope. Oh, Jett was here. Maybe that's what you heard."

"Yeah. It sounded like it was in the room, but maybe it was just you," Chazz says. He shrugs and starts for the kitchen.

"Want to duel today?" Jesse calls after him.

"Yeah."

Jesse grins and runs back upstairs to grab his deck. When he gets in the room, though, he finds his deck is no longer inside its case. He frowns, sure he had put it back in there after having it out to duel Beck last night. He hurries back downstairs to check the living room, but his Crystal Beasts are nowhere in sight.

Chazz is in the kitchen staring blankly at his coffee when Jesse comes in looking a little frantic.

"I think- your uncle stole my deck," Jesse says, ending with certainty.

"Excuse me?"

"I can't find them. He was here and you said you heard someone in the room."

"Why would he steal them? Obviously you were going to notice," Chazz says. He's skeptical, but then again, Jett might be hoping Jesse would think he misplaced them instead. He _did_ have them out the night before. "You might've just left them-"

Jesse runs out the door before Chazz could finish.

The car is already gone. Jesse looks as if he's ready to chase after him on foot.

"What hotel is he staying at?"

"It's like an hour out of the way," Chazz says, earning a disgruntled look from Jesse. He sighs. "Let me get the keys to my mom's car. And shoes."

It's less than five minutes before they head out. Chazz hasn't driven in a long time and the only way to the city is through icy back roads. He's trying to drive carefully, but Jesse is bouncing his leg and making Chazz anxious. He takes a turn a little too fast, hitting a patch of black ice just right that it sends them off the side of the road and down a short, snowy hill. They just barely miss the trees.

"Goddammit," Chazz says. He tries to reverse, but the car won't budge. The tires just whir loudly against the snow.

"We can try and push it back up to the road," Jesse suggests as he opens the car door. "Put it in neutral and we might be able to get it out."

It doesn't work. They try pushing for several minutes but without a shovel they don't even have a chance of succeeding.

Chazz takes out his phone to call for help, but he doesn't have any service. He doesn't miss living out in the middle of nowhere. Cold and irritated, he throws his phone into the snow and stomps all the way back into the car. Walking was out of the question, they were nearly a half hour from home and there wasn't anywhere nearby for several miles.

Jesse reaches for his own phone, frowning as he realizes he left it behind. He gets back in the car and shuts the door.

"I guess we wait," Jesse says.


	6. What's Cooler Than Being Cool?

"Let's try walking," Jesse says.

It's been a half hour and they have been sitting in silence the entire time. Their damp shoes and socks were off their feet and set on the car floor in front of them.

The silence leaves Jesse alone to think. He knows he should tell Chazz about Jaden, and this opportunity alone, trapped together, is definitely the perfect opportunity. He might get upset but Jesse would also have the time to apologize for lying. The only thing stopping him now is that he doesn't want Chazz to be anymore upset than he already is.

Jesse glances at Chazz just enough times that he gets Chazz's attention.

"Unless you have something to say, stop staring at me," Chazz grumbles.

"I lied," Jesse says.

"About what?"

"I saw Jaden a couple months ago," Jesse explains. "Over the summer. And we have kept in touch since school."

"So wait," Chazz says. "I'm confused. Are you saying you did know about us?"

"No! And I felt real silly when you told me. Then I didn't want to make you feel worse, especially since we were just having a brief chat," Jesse says, frowning. "After that, I just wasn't sure how to bring it up."

It's quiet for a moment.

"I shoulda said something on the plane," Jesse says.

"Whatever." Chazz sighs. "I get it."

He doesn't get why Jaden wouldn't tell his best friend about them, but he can't really blame Jesse for feeling awkward about it.

"You should also know-" Jesse starts, but Chazz waves his hand dismissively, interrupting him.

"If you're about to tell me you got something more than friendship happening, I really don't need to hear it."

"No! Nothing like that. It's just-"

Chazz cuts him off again.

"Then it's fine, really. None of it matters." Chazz shrugs. "I blocked his number after he texted me the other day, and I intend to be just as good at ignoring him as he is at ignoring me."

"He texted you?" Jesse wonders what Jaden could possibly be thinking. It's infuriating to Jesse to think he would treat someone like this. It just didn't seem like the Jaden he knows. "Chazz-"

"How long do you think we'll be in this car?"

Jesse frowns, but decides not to push the topic anymore. Jesse wants to tell Chazz that he and Jaden have texted a few times since the trip started, but he is relieved that he doesn't have to. The tension in the car was already thick enough as it was.

"Hopefully your uncle will drive back this way," Jesse replies.

"Do you really think he stole your deck?"

Chazz didn't see why Jett would steal something from a soon to be family member, it seemed like a silly, short sighted plan.

"I don't know," Jesse admits with a sigh. "I might have overreacted, but wouldn't you?"

"Probably. He's a sketchy guy, I wouldn't be surprised if he did take it."

After a few more minutes, Chazz turns off the car, not wanting to make matters worse by letting the battery or gas get too low.

"Shouldn't we just try walking," Jesse asks and leans his seat back.

"I don't want to get sick."

"The cold doesn't make you sick," Jesse says. "And it's gonna get cold in here."

"We can turn it back on when it starts getting cold again," Chazz explains, leaning his seat back as well. "It's a long way to be cold _and_ wet. Someone will come soon."

"Hm."

"Someone is going to wonder where we're at. And why we're not answering our phones."

"Could be hours before they get worried about it, though," Jesse says.

"Then you walk back in your wet socks with no jacket. I'll wait here."

Jesse smiles and shrugs.

"I guess it gives us a chance to hang out."

"We've been hanging out," Chazz says.

"Yeah, but now that we're stuck by ourselves for a while," Jesse says, turning in his seat to comfortably face Chazz. "I have a question."

"Of course you do." Chazz sighs. "What?"

"What happened with Jaden? Two years and you don't know his thought process at all?"

"Maybe you should try walking," Chazz says, glaring at him.

"Oh, come on."

"It's not really any of your business."

"No," Jesse admits. "It isn't."

They're quiet for a moment. Jesse is still watching him, hoping if he stares long enough Chazz will just give in and answer. After a minute, Chazz rolls his eyes and turns to face him.

"I suppose he gets bored, so he leaves," Chazz says. "Then he gets bored of that and comes back."

"Maybe."

"Well, what do you think, then? Since you two are apparently close."

"I don't think anything," Jesse says. "A couple days ago, I thought he would have told me he was gettin' married. So, maybe you're right."

Jesse frowns then asks, "All his other friends knew?"

"Some," Chazz says. "But I'm the one that told people. I don't talk to everyone he's friends with, though, so I don't know."

They get quiet again. Jesse fidgets as he tries to find a way to sit that's comfortable while Chazz considers turning the car on for the radio. After a while, Jesse gives up and crawls between the seats into the back.

"What are you doing?" Chazz asks.

"Exactly what it looks like." Jesse chuckles as he struggles to pull the seats forward. "It's uncomfortable up there."

Chazz turns the car on and plays the radio for a while. The longer he sits there, he decides Jesse has the right idea, so he turns the car off and crawls into the backseat as well.

"Move over," he says, nudging Jesse. There isn't a lot of room for him to move over and Jesse hardly makes an effort. He smiles and turns on his side to face Chazz.

"I just don't get it."

"He's always been a selfish asshole, right?" Chazz sighs, wishing Jesse would find something else to talk about. All this Jaden relationship talk was beginning to stress him out. "I don't know what there is to get."

"I meant I don't get you," Jesse says. "If it always ends the same, why get back together?"

"I- I guess I get bored, too." Chazz feels guilty admitting it.

"This might be a silly question. Are you in love with him?"

Chazz doesn't respond right away. His instinct was to say yes, of course, why else would they have been engaged. But when he really considers it, he isn't sure he actually knows why he agreed to getting married. He isn't sure he ever expected it to even happen.

"No," he admits, frowning. "I guess I'm not."

Jesse shakes his head and nudges Chazz's leg with his own.

"Maybe when you start lookin' to date again, you should try finding someone interested in the same things you are," Jesse tells him.

"I hear I'm picky and not that easy to get along with."

"Sounds about right." Jesse chuckles. "I suggest dropping emotionally unavailable and uncommunicative as your type, though."

"What about you?" Chazz asks, wanting to move past talking about him. "Why don't you have anyone to spend the holidays with?"

"I do! I'm spending them with you," Jesse says with a grin. Chazz rolls his eyes.

"You know what I mean," Chazz says. "You could be out there using all your good advice yourself, instead of fake dating me through New Years."

"I prefer to let romance find me." Jesse shrugs. "My best relationships have been serendipitous ones."

Chazz raises an eyebrow.

"But they ended," he says, like he's making a point, and rolls on his side to face Jesse.

"Not every relationship is forever," Jesse says. "It's not all that common to spend the rest of your life with the first person you date. Anyway, who's to say I won't still find romance on New Years?"

"Your fortune cookie did predict it," Chazz says.

"You're right! And we did have that real nice date the other day." Jesse grins.

Another awkward pause falls between them, and Chazz turns onto his back again so that their faces aren't quite as close.

Jesse thinks about asking him on a date outside their fake engagement, but he doesn't have the nerve. He's sure it would be inappropriate right after their conversation about Jaden, anyway, and he definitely doesn't want to offend Chazz.

The conversation doesn't pick back up again and they lay quietly for a while.

"Should we turn the car back on?" Jesse asks, once it starts to get cold again.

"I'm worried if it gets warm enough, I'll fall asleep," Chazz says. "I don't want the car to die."

Jesse shrugs then scoots a little closer. Chazz nervously tries to move back, but there's no space behind him.

"What are you doing?"

"If you're not turning the heat on, then we should cuddle."

"That'd be weird," Chazz says, remembering the last time that happened. It was definitely weird for him.

"Only if you make it weird," Jesse says.

Chazz doesn't have any real argument for that, so he lets Jesse curl up against his side and tries his best not to make it weird.

A loud knock on the window startles them both awake. They aren't too sure when they fell asleep or how long it's been, but they're cuddled up similar to the night they arrived and Chazz can't imagine this is only awkward for him.

"Hey!" Jesse exclaims, sitting up and leaning over Chazz to open the car door. "It's Beck! We're so glad to see you."

Beckett chuckles, leaning down to peer inside the car.

"Odd place for a nap, boys," Beckett says.

Chazz sits up and crawls over the seats to get to his shoes.

"We couldn't get the car out of the snow," Jesse explains, holding out his hands to indicate he wants Chazz to grab his shoes as well. Beckett laughs and drives them back to the house, where he takes care of calling a tow truck out.

A few hours later, Jesse and Chazz are sitting on the couch with Beckett and Wren.

"Where were you two hurrying off to anyway?" Wren asks.

Jesse chuckles and scratches the back of his neck.

"Well…" he starts. "I couldn't find my deck this morning, and I'm embarrassed to admit, I sorta assumed Jett took off with it."

Wren tilts her head.

"Why would you think that?"

"I know he's been interested in 'em for a long time, and then when he was around this morning I jumped to conclusions. I feel pretty silly having run out of here like we wouldn't ever see him again," Jesse says. "I just really care about my monsters, y'know?"

"He is a sketchy fella, and I overheard him and your brothers talking about it so you should definitely keep an eye out," Beckett says seriously. Then he smiles. "But you've got nothing to worry about. I have your deck in my office."

"What? Why?" Chazz asks.

"You left it down here," he says. "I didn't want to bother you after you'd gone to bed, and I thought, no better chance to take a peak and prepare my strategy for next time."

Jesse grins and nods, feeling relieved.

"Oh, thank heavens! I can't fault you for that, I might've done the same."

Chazz grumbles. He leans back and folds his arms. He absolutely does fault him. If he'd just left it where he'd found it, they wouldn't have spent the morning in the snow.

Not long after the four of them eat breakfast, Charlotte joins them with her mother following close behind. They both look very pleased with themselves, which makes Chazz a little nervous. That look is a mother with an idea, and considering what's happening this week, it isn't going to be one he likes.

"Mom and I were talking about you two last night," she says, skipping greetings except to tap Beckett lovingly on the shoulder.

"Us?" Jesse asks.

"Obviously," Chazz says. "Why?"

"Your grandmother doesn't have a lot of time left with us," she says, and Dotty nods, her expression serious.

"Where's she going?" Jesse asks.

"Somewhere good, I hope," Dotty replies. "I'm old, kids. And before I die, I would love to see my youngest grandson's wedding."

"You have three others younger than me," Chazz says. He knew he wouldn't like where this conversation was going.

"Are you sick or something?" Wren asks, sounding concerned.

"She's had several health problems the past few years. And Chazz, dear, you're the youngest of her adult grandchildren," Charlotte explains.

"And my favorite," Dotty says.

Chazz sighs.

"Maybe by summer," he suggests.

Jesse feels worse than he already did. The poor woman was so welcoming and excited for this marriage, and it isn't real.

"We were actually thinking New Years," Charlotte says. Their horrified reactions put a frown on Charlotte's face.

"Don't give me that look."

"That's in less than a week!" Chazz regrets everything.

"You've been together for two years, what's the big deal?" Wren asks.

Chazz considers telling her this isn't her business but he tries to stay focused and not create more problems to apologize for later.

Both Jesse and Chazz are frantically trying to think of a way out of this, but neither of them can come up with a good reason that isn't just the truth.

"How you start the New Year is important. It's a lucky day to get married on," Charlotte says.

"Could be unlucky," Chazz mutters.

"If you go into it with that attitude," she says.

"What if Dotty does die before summer?" Jesse whispers. He doesn't really have a plan, but the thought has him concerned.

Chazz isn't sure what he wants him to say, and he certainly doesn't have any ideas.

"Let us talk about it and I'll let you know later," Chazz says.

"Today. There's not a lot of time to plan," Charlotte says.

Chazz gets up and pulls Jesse out of his chair. Jesse smiles and waves as he lets himself be led out of the room and toward the bedroom.

"If we stage a break up, I think-" Chazz says as he shuts the bedroom door behind him.

"Right before the wedding she's wanting to plan?" Jesse says. "You were too embarrassed to face them single, explaining this would have to be worse, right?"

Jesse certainly wasn't prepared to face Chazz's family and say it was all a lie.

"I think it's a better plan than actually getting married," Chazz says. "What's the long term plan, here?"

"I don't know," Jesse says, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "But I'll be fake married to you as long as you want. I don't have anything else going on."

"Are you serious?"

Chazz thinks a divorce in a couple years wouldn't be such a terrible thing to have to deal with. They can even get it secretly annulled after they leave and his family wouldn't have to know anything.

"I don't really enjoy the lying part, but we can't take it back now. Admitting to tricking them, though… that just sounds like a good way to ruin everyone's holiday," Jesse says. He doesn't like advocating for more lying, but he's not ready to have this perfectly lovely family to dislike him. Or to see Chazz's brothers vindicated in any way.

Chazz agrees with that. He can't even imagine the look on his mother's face, and just trying to is already making him anxious.

"Alright. Fake wedding it is." Chazz sighs.

"We just have to make it fun and get through the week!" Jesse says.

Less than a day after letting his mom know they're willing to get married on New Years, Chazz finds himself staring at different flowers with his Aunt Marelia. It feels like they've been trying to decide for an eternity, though in reality it's only been an hour.

"I don't really care, Marelia," he tells her for the third time. "If you think the blue ones are better, then order them."

"Don't you care about how your wedding looks?" she asks.

Chazz sighs. The whole situation feels unreal, but he knows for sure he wouldn't care about flowers even if the wedding wasn't a sham.

"I trust your taste," he tells her. She grins and starts circling the ones she likes best.

Jesse, on the other hand, spends the following morning looking over menu options with Charlotte and Dotty. He is much more invested in the part than Chazz, but mostly because he's afraid to disappoint either of these women. He can't bring himself to complain about tasting food all day, either.

"I think we could get a great deal from Panda Express," Jesse suggests. Charlotte scrunches her nose.

"Ah, you prefer Chinese cuisine," Dotty says. "I'm sure we can find a cook-"

"No, I just mean we should order a buncha Panda Express and have that."

"Let's go with my mother's idea," Charlotte says dismissively. "I know someone who comes highly recommended, I'll give her a call."

"We want the food to be good," Dotty says, patting Jesse on the shoulder. He frowns, but doesn't argue.

Around two in the afternoon, Jesse and Chazz reunite for an uncomfortable car ride with Chazz's brothers, uncles, and step-father. They spend three hours getting fit for tuxes and the only two that seem to be having fun doing so are Beckett and Jesse.

"Why are you getting married so fast?" Jagger asks, when he's alone with Chazz for a few minutes. "What are you trying to prove?"

"It was Dotty and mom's idea. Would you say no to them?"

Jagger shrugs. "You don't seem very excited. Is this actually what you want?"

Chazz sighs. He isn't sure how to act more excited about a fake wedding. The whole thing had gone too far, but Chazz thought the worst part was that all he could think about was asking his fake fiance on a normal first date. It definitely wouldn't feel very normal if they were already legally married.

"Yeah," Chazz says confidently. "It's just a lot at once, but I'm definitely excited."

It's not long before they're all suited up and can finally get home. The family has dinner together, which Chazz is surprised by. They had spent more time together as a family over this holiday vacation then they ever had before. He wonders if this was due to Beckett and Wren, who seemed to be very family oriented people, or just because they wanted to get to know Jesse.

"Have either of you called any of your friends?" Charlotte asks.

Chazz frowns. "Why would we?"

"To invite them to the wedding," she says, sounding frustrated.

"It's in two days, and on New Years. No one's going to come," he says dismissively.

"I'm sure a few people would make time for you," Wren says.

"You certainly won't know if you don't call and ask," Beckett adds.

Jesse nods in agreement, to which Chazz gives him a look. Jesse smiles and shrugs at him.

"I'm sure your friends would at least like to hear about it," Charlotte says, but Chazz changes the subject to asking about the music, which he had left up to Marelia to decide.

"Oh! I almost forgot to tell you what I chose," she says excitedly and reaches for her phone.

After dinner, Jesse convinces Chazz to go back to the library. They're looking through cards quietly.

"We never got the chance to duel," Jesse says. "Maybe we can duel tomorrow."

"Tomorrow's New Years. My mom would freak out if we tried to have a professional duel while she's setting up for her party," Chazz explains. Jesse frowns. He's much more interested in dueling than attending another big event.

"We can duel after the reception," Chazz says. "We'll go into town and then fly back in the morning and get an annulment."

Jesse nods.

"Great thinking!" he says as he adds a new card to the deck he's building. "Maybe after that we can get something to eat. Your mom won't let us have Panda Express at the wedding and I've been craving some honey walnut shrimp."

Chazz rolls his eyes.

"You've just spent almost two weeks with me," Chazz says, "and you're asking me to hang out as soon as we get back?"

"Sure!" Jesse laughs. "But I get it if you want to wait a while. I'm sure you need some time to yourself after all this excitement."

There's an awkward pause between them.

Chazz does want some time to just hide from the world, but he also wants to spend time with Jesse outside their fake engagement. Chazz wants to ask if hanging out could be more like a date. He's just not sure how to ask. Considering the circumstances, he doesn't think it's appropriate.

"Let's see how hungry I am after the annulment."

Jesse chuckles and they end the conversation there. They look through cards in silence for a while, before heading up to bed.

Neither of them so much as stir when Wren sneaks in around midnight and steals Chazz's phone. She takes it downstairs to Charlotte and the two scroll through his contacts and write down the numbers of people Charlotte recognizes by name.

They put his phone back a little later without any trouble and the following morning, Charlotte calls and starts inviting people to the wedding. She begins with Syrus, who sounds shocked, but she chalks it up to him just being surprised by the suddenness of everything. They chat a little longer than she means to and she mentions her New Years Eve party. She's thrilled when he tells her he can make it to that, as well.

Most of the calls Charlotte makes after don't go nearly as well. When she reaches Atticus, she receives a very enthusiastic response followed by a line of questioning about whether or not they still needed a wedding singer. The only other person to accept the invitation is his sister, Alexis. When Zane's phone goes straight to voicemail, she moves on to the last person on her list, Aster.

"My name is Charlotte," she tells him when he answers. "I'm calling on behalf of my son Chazz."

"Oh, hello," Aster says. He puts down the cards he's holding and leans back in his chair. "Is everything alright?"

"Of course, it's actually very exciting news," she says, chuckling a little. "I'm not sure how close you are with my son, but he and Jesse are getting married on New Years day. I know it's last minute, but I would like to invite you to the wedding."

Aster pauses.

"How exciting. Unfortunately New Years is a busy day for us," Aster tells her.

"Of course, I understand." Charlotte was proud to have at least found a couple of guests from Chazz's friends.

"Could I get the address," Aster asks, getting up to look for a pen and paper. "Just in case anything changes?"

A pen hits him in the arm. Aster glares over at Zane, who is holding out a notepad for him to take. He snatches it and scribbles down the address.

"Thank you," he says. "Same to you."

"Who was that?" Zane asks as Aster hangs up.

"Chazz's mom." Aster sits back down at the table across from Jaden. He picks back up his cards. "He's getting married in a few days."

Jaden sets his own cards down, confused.

"To who?" Zane asks, glancing over at Jaden. Aster shrugs.

"I was just about to ask Jaden that," he says. "Last we heard, you guys were a thing."

Jaden stares at the table with a troubled expression for a couple seconds, then gets up and leaves the room without a word.

"Jaden?" Zane calls after him, but Jaden hurries out of the house.

Taking out his phone once he gets into the driveway, Jaden calls Chazz. It rings a couple times, then goes to voicemail. He tries again, but this time it goes straight to voicemail. Jaden sighs and pockets his phone. Of course Chazz wasn't going to answer, but getting married on a whim seems a bit extreme in Jaden's opinion.

Jaden hurries back inside.

"Can I have that address?" he asks.

"I don't think you're invited," Aster says.

"_We're _engaged," Jaden admits, holding out his hand expectantly. "He's obviously lost his mind, I need to go talk to him."

"If you two are engaged, why are you here?" Zane asks.

"I highly doubt you two are still together after you ditched him," Aster points out. Jaden didn't realize he even knew about that.

"I- Well, he still shouldn't be getting married to anyone else. That's crazy, right?" Jaden bounces anxiously. "I should go talk to him, shouldn't I?"

"Whatever. Try not to embarrass him. Or yourself." Aster hands him the paper with the address on it.

Jaden nods, then points to their in progress duel on the table.

"Leave that there, okay? I'll be back," he says, grabbing his coat and hurrying out the door.

"We should go to the wedding," Aster says, as he starts cleaning up their cards from the table.

"I have no interest in their romantic drama," Zane says, not looking up from his book.

"Would you be more interested if I told you he's apparently marrying Jesse?"

Zane glances up at Aster over the top of his book, clearly interested.

"Andersen?"

"Probably. Would explain why he never went home, right?" Aster smirks. The amused expression on Zane's face is approval enough.

"I'll get the tickets tonight," Aster says.


	7. My Best Friend's Wedding

Charlotte wakes Chazz up early. He's embarrassed to find that their pillow wall has yet again found its way off the bed and Jesse is pressed up against his back, snoring softly. After the car, he wonders if it's been Jesse moving the pillows - in his sleep of course.

Chazz gently gets out of the bed, so as not to wake him up, and gets dressed. Downstairs his mom hands him a cup of coffee and a stack of photos.

"I wanted to take you down to the chapel for you to look at what we put together, but I don't know if there will be time. I still have to set up for my guests tonight."

"Are we even religious?" Chazz asks, focusing on the word chapel. He doesn't want to sound too much like he's complaining, especially since it looks great for the amount of time she had to prep.

"It was there or the backyard, and as gorgeous as my home is, that would be tacky. I also don't want a bunch of strangers in my home," she tells him.

"What's a bunch?"

Before she can answer, there's a knock on the door. She jumps up and hurries to open it, beating the butler to the door.

"Hi, I'm Syrus," Chazz hears when Charlotte opens the door. "I know I'm a little early, but-"

"That's okay, come in," she says, and Chazz starts to panic. "Oh, are these your kids?"

Chazz isn't ready to face Syrus, so he hurries out of the living room in the opposite direction while Charlotte ushers Syrus and the triplets inside.

"Chazz is in here," she explains, and he follows her to the living room where Chazz is not. Charlotte frowns.

"Well, he should be right back." She isn't sure that's true, but she knows where to find him if he doesn't come back soon. She kneels down and smiles at the children. "If you kiddos want to explore, you're welcome to. If you go down that hall, you'll find a very fun lady who always has snacks," she tells them.

Syrus smiles as his kids make their way in the direction Charlotte sent them. He smiles at her when she stands back up.

"Thank you for inviting us," he says.

"I'm just surprised Chazz didn't bother to call any of his friends."

Syrus shrugs. "Maybe he just didn't want to feel like he was inconveniencing anyone on their holiday."

Neither Syrus or Charlotte can imagine Chazz actually worrying about inconveniencing anyone, especially if it's a day dedicated to him. It is the best answer he could come up with, and she is ready to accept it because she can't come up with anything better either.

"We were just looking over any last minute changes or additions for tomorrow," she says after a beat. "Would you like to see the location we chose? While we wait?"

"Sounds great," Syrus says and takes a seat beside her.

He knows that Chazz isn't coming back any time soon, but they have all day to talk and Syrus knows Chazz can't hide forever.

Chazz hurries upstairs and busts in the room and nearly slams the door behind him only to find Jesse in the middle of changing. It shouldn't be a big deal, but Chazz finds himself embarrassed anyway and turns to face the door. Mostly to hide the look on his face.

"Why're you running in here like you're being chased by a demon?"

"It's Syrus," Chazz says.

Jesse looks confused.

"Syrus is chasing you?"

Chazz sighs and turns back around. Jesse is fully clothed, thankfully, so Chazz goes and sits on the bed.

"No. He's downstairs."

"Why?"

"I assume my mother invited him."

"That's… not good."

"How am I supposed to explain this. He's going to know it's not real," Chazz doesn't want anyone to think that it is. Even if it's just for the short time they're with his family. "And even if he does, we talk all the time, he'll try and have me committed."

"I'm sure if you just talk to him, he'll play along-"

"That's not the point."

"I know, but there's not really any other option. He's here. I'll come with you."

Chazz sighs. "No, I should talk to him myself. My mom set up the wedding in some cathedral if you want to look over the pictures she took."

"I didn't know you were religious."

"Apparently a backyard wedding is tacky."

"I don't understand rich folk," Jesse says, shrugging and heading to the door. "Come on, then. I'll entertain Charlotte while you set things straight with Syrus."

They go downstairs but when they reach the living room, Chazz tries to sneak off while Jesse isn't looking. It doesn't work. Jesse all but pulls Chazz into the room with him. He smiles brightly when he sees Syrus on the sofa.

"Syrus! It's been a while!"

Syrus smiles back, but he isn't particularly excited to see Jesse. The guy wasn't ever Syrus' favorite person, and on top of that, he is involved in whatever weird scheme Chazz is up to. And Syrus definitely didn't approve of anyone who enables Chazz's nonsense.

"It sure has," he says, standing up. "Chazz, can we talk somewhere? Privately? If you two don't mind?"

Charlotte frowns, but Jesse sits down beside her and grins.

"While they catch up, could you show me what you've got set up for tomorrow?" he asks.

Charlotte smiles and nods, handing the stack of photos to Jesse.

Chazz avoids making direct eye contact with Syrus as he leads him out of the living room. When they reach the kitchen Syrus sits down and folds his arms.

"I told you to go on a date, not find someone new to marry," Syrus says. "And Jesse Andersen? Of all people, you go for Jaden's clone?"

"They're really not that much alike."

"I have met him, you know."

"And I've just spent two weeks with him, and it's definitely not the same as spending time with Jaden."

For starters, Chazz actually feels like Jesse is enjoying his company. Chazz has noticed over the past few days that he's woken up already excited to spend the day with Jesse.

"Fine," Syrus says, but he doesn't sound convinced. "But really? What the hell?"

"He was at the airport and…" Chazz pauses. Syrus doesn't need the whole story. "Look, it's not real, okay? I just wasn't ready to tell my family what happened."

"That might actually be worse."

"I'm aware," Chazz snaps. "But at this point, how would we even explain it?"

Syrus sighs. "I didn't know you two were even friends."

"We're not." Chazz says instinctively, but then corrects himself. "Well, we weren't."

"I don't get it."

"You don't have to, as long as you keep quiet and play along," Chazz tells him.

"Yeah, whatever," Syrus says, sighing. "It's not like I want to be the one to have that conversation. It's not like it's my business."

"Why are you here, anyway?" Chazz says, only now realizing it was weird for him to know anything and show up out of nowhere like this.

"Your mom invited me to your wedding."

Chazz is horrified and very confused.

"How did she get your number…"

"I don't know, your phone?" Syrus shrugs. "I don't know who else she called, but I suggest you put a passcode on your phone."

"Goddammit," Chazz mutters. "At least I deleted Jaden's number…"

"Really?" Syrus looks surprised, but pleased.

"Yeah."

"Good. The whole thing was getting old."

"Sorry my love life was getting on your nerves." Chazz glares.

"Thanks for apologizing," Syrus says, looking smug. "What have you two been doing this whole time? Other than taking things too far."

"Just Christmas stuff," Chazz says, finally taking a seat across from Syrus. "We dueled a few times. Went ice skating.."

"Ice skating?" Syrus asks in disbelief. "I didn't know you could ice skate."

He finds trying to imagine it hilarious, though.

"I can't. Jesse was teaching me," Chazz says. "You know, there are places that was trying to make dueling on ice a professional sport?"

"Sounds complicated."

"Yeah."

"Sorry to interrupt," Jesse says, poking his head around the corner. "Wren came out with a handful of youngin's and your mom took them out to the courtyard out back."

Chazz smiles and waves him in.

"Those are mine," Syrus says, noticing the change in Chazz's demeanor when Jesse appeared. "We were done, anyway. I got a question for you."

Jesse sits down beside Chazz and smiles at Syrus.

"Ask away," he says.

"I get why Chazz is acting nuts, but why are you going along with this? Don't you have anything better to do than get fake married?"

Jesse chuckles nervously.

"Nah. I mean, I was just tryin' to help, and now we're just sort of stuck in an awkward situation."

Syrus shakes his head and sighs. Before he can respond, they're interrupted by Wren, Charlotte, and the triplets.

"I've got a party to set up," Charlotte says cheerfully. "Why don't you take your guests to get settled into one of the spare rooms."

"You mean your guests," Chazz mutters. Jesse elbows him lightly.

"Will do!" Jesse says cheerfully. "Come on, then."

He lifts up the one bouncing excitedly in front of him. "What's your name?"

"Ryoko. Guess what?" she says as she crawls around him and onto his back.

"What?"

"Me and Ako get to be flower girls!" she tells him excitedly.

"Really?" Jesse grins brightly. "How exciting!"

"Yeah," Ako says with a smile, taking Jesse's hand.

Jesse chuckles and walks out of the room, with Syrus and his son following behind him.

"I'm Wren," Wren says, walking alongside him. "Chazz's step-sister."

"Syrus," he replies, smiling. They start chatting as they disappear around the corner, following Jesse upstairs.

Chazz, on the other hand, stays behind. He glares at his mom, and she huffs and folds her arms across her chest.

"Don't give me that look."

"You stole my phone," he says. Chazz is irritated with her, and worried about who else might be showing up.

"He was excited to get the invite," she tells him. "I don't know why you wouldn't invite your friends."

"Who else should I be expecting to show up?"

"No one gave me a definite yes, except your best friend. He was very disappointed that you didn't call him immediately with the news, you know."

"Syrus is not my best friend," Chazz says. He might be, considering how often they talked, but Chazz also didn't always like Syrus. And he knew that Syrus' best friend is definitely Jaden.

"No, but Atticus is."

Just for a second, Chazz feels like his heart stops beating. He can't imagine why his mother thinks Atticus is his best friend, but he's sure that's more of an accurate statement than if she had said Syrus is. Either way, Atticus is absolutely the last person he would have wanted to know about his fake wedding. If anyone were to tell everyone, Jaden included, it's Atticus.

"Why are you being so secretive about this, Chazz? What's wrong?"

Chazz thinks maybe now would be the right time to tell the truth. But he can't seem to find the right words and after a moment, he loses whatever nerve he might have had a moment ago.

"Nothing. Thank you for doing all this," he says, forcing a smile. "I didn't want to bother anyone, but I'm glad to have at least Syrus and Atticus coming to the wedding."

"Anything for you," she says, pulling him into a hug. "Wish I could've invited some of Jesse's friends, but I didn't feel right going through his phone."

"Why not? You had no problem going through mine," Chazz says, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, you're my son. I've only known him for a week."

Chazz rolls his eyes.

"I'll see you later," he says, and pulls away from his mother to follow the others upstairs.

A few hours later, Jesse and Chazz both get dressed for the party. Jesse is starting to get used to how often he has to wear formal clothing around Chazz's family. It's different, but when a suit fit, he felt kind of cool. And he didn't have any complaints about seeing Chazz in a suit.

"Okay, this isn't going to be fun," Chazz warns him, as they head downstairs.

"Don't be ridiculous," Jesse says. "It's a party!"

"Whatever. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Outside the house, Jaden gets out of the car and stares up at the large house in front of him. It looks nearly as big as Duel Academy. He starts up the driveway but stops when Wren steps out from the shadows near the cars.

"Hey," Wren says. "Who're you?"

"Uh, hi. I'm Jaden," he says, giving her a small wave. "I'm here to see Chazz. Do you know where I can find him?"

She stares at him for a moment, recognizing the name well enough to know she shouldn't let him in. He gets the distinct feeling she's sizing him up.

"Hi Jaden, I'm Wren. Chazz's step-sister," she says, smiling politely. "I don't want to sound rude, but I don't think you're invited."

"No," he says with a chuckle. "Not officially. But I really need to talk to him."

"I see," she says, her smile not wavering. "Well, maybe you can try calling, and if he wants to talk, he'll pick up. But for now, I think you should let him enjoy the New Year with his fiance."

Jaden doesn't really know what to say. Little more than a week ago that fiance was him. Now Chazz is inside with someone, preparing a wedding, and the whole family is supportive of it. It doesn't seem right, but he never bothered to get to know Chazz's family. He certainly doesn't want to get to know them by barging in on a wedding they seemed excited about.

"Yeah, I'll try that," he says, deciding he would just sneak around through the back. He can't let him make such a rash decision, at least not without trying to talk some sense into him.

Jaden walks back down to the front gates and leans against the pillar. He pulls out his phone and scrolls to Chazz's number. He'd already tried to reach out, but unlike other times, Chazz is actively ignoring him right back. He is sure Chazz won't answer the phone, but he decides to try before he goes breaking and entering.

It takes him a couple minutes to work up the nerve again, but he finally calls. After a few rings, it goes to voicemail.

Jaden looks up the house and decides to give up. Chazz deserves someone excited enough to be with him that they would commit on a whim. Even if it is a mistake, which is not Jaden's place to decide, it's better than going back and forth with someone like him.

Jaden sighs and calls a cab to take him to a hotel.

The party is mostly just rich people chatting amongst their little groups and music Jesse can't imagine anyone actually enjoying listening to. He follows Chazz, who's following Jett and Marelia, around the party getting introduced to a lot of strangers who only ever seem interested in him when Jett mentions he has Rainbow Dragon.

"This is really boring," Jesse whispers as they walk toward another group. "Where's Syrus?"

"He's with the kids. My mom sends all the children to the yard, so they don't get bored," Chazz explains.

"How do we get invited to that party?" Jesse asks.

Chazz eyes Marelia and Jett, who aren't paying attention as they insert themselves into yet another conversation.

"Like this." Chazz takes Jesse's hand and pulls him along as he speed walks out of the room. He hears his aunt call after them, but they turn the corner and hurry down the hall.

Jesse chuckles as they slow down, nearing the doors that lead out to the back.

"Your mom and I have a very different idea of fun," he says.

"It's not much more fun hanging out with a bunch of kids," Chazz tells him. He feels his phone buzzing in his pocket, but he doesn't want to know who's trying to call, especially after his mom went and called his entire contact list to invite them to a sham wedding.

"Well," Jesse says, shrugging, "We can hang out with Syrus a little, then if you want, we can go find something fun to do on our own?"

Chazz raises an eyebrow.

"What'd you have in mind?"

Jesse grins. "Nothing in particular, but I think it'd be fun to just wing it."

Chazz can still feel his phone so he takes it out to turn it off. He notices the number isn't a contact, but he still recognizes it as Jaden's. He frowns and glances over at Jesse who is walking a little ways ahead now. Chazz ends the call early and blocks Jaden's number. He hurries to catch up to Jesse.

When they get outside, they are immediately met with the sounds of children screaming and laughing. There are too many sparklers in the hands of children for Chazz to feel comfortable.

"Hey," Syrus says, approaching them. "Your mom's party was boring."

"It sure was!" Jesse laughs.

Chazz rolls his eyes.

"Why are children running around with fire?"

"It's not fire," Syrus says. "The box says three and up. They're fine."

One of Syrus' daughters, Ako, came up and tugged on Jesse's sleeve.

"Can I see Rainbow Dragon?" she asks, smiling up at him. Jesse reaches for his pocket and pulls out his cards. Kneeling down he rifles through his deck and holds out Rainbow Dragon for her to look at. She claps and pulls it out of his hands.

"Ask before you take," Syrus says.

"Can I hold it?" she asks, already holding it up close to her face. Jesse chuckles.

"Just for a minute, then I gotta put it away," he says. She shows everyone around her before she hands it back to Jesse. She grins and then runs away to join her siblings.

"Cute kid," he says to Syrus, who grins at him.

"Okay, well, I don't really want to spend New Years Eve babysitting," Chazz says, just before a ball hits him in the face. "Hey!"

The kid who hit it looks a lot like Slade. He sticks his tongue out at Chazz, then throws another ball at him.

"You brat," Chazz says, grabbing the ball and chasing after him.

Jesse laughs and sits down on the porch. Syrus sits down beside him and watches him as he watches Chazz play with the kids as more of them get involved in throwing different toys at him.

"I have a question," Syrus says after a moment. Jesse smiles and sits up straight.

"Shoot."

"Are you interested in Chazz? Like, in a romantic way."

Jesse is pretty sure he turns red, and by the look on Syrus' face, he knows that whatever his expression is has answered the question for him.

"So, yes?"

"I- yeah," he admits. "I like him more than I might've expected to. I reckon it's got something to do with pretending to be in love, but we've been gettin' on pretty well when we're on our own."

"Well, if you guys do anything, keep in mind he's never been in a normal relationship."

"It's sweet you care enough to look out for him," Jesse says. He remembers the last time he saw Syrus, he wasn't a fan of Chazz at all.

"Don't be ridiculous," Syrus says dismissively. "I just don't want to listen to him complain about you every couple weeks next. I have my own kids to take care of, I don't have time for his drama."

Jesse smiles, seeing right through Syrus' act.

"Don't worry," Jesse says confidently. "I don't plan to give him anything to complain about."

Syrus smiles a little before they're interrupted by Chazz coming back over to them. He looks worn out and flushed.

"Kids are exhausting. I don't know how you deal with them daily," he says. "Come on, I'm ready to find something else to do."

Jesse waves goodbye to Syrus and follows Chazz back inside. They walk slowly as Chazz tries to decide on a destination. Jesse is thinking about his conversation with Syrus and doesn't realize he's staring until Chazz points it out.

"What?"

"Nothin'."

"Then stop staring at me," Chazz says, looking a little embarrassed.

"Midnight's comin' up," Jesse points out as they pass a clock. Chazz nods quietly, not sure what to say. He knows what he wants to ask, but he doesn't have the nerve to do it. They end up walking upstairs and back to the room.

"We could duel into the New Year," Chazz suggests, closing the door behind them. Jesse nods and moves to clear the middle of the floor.

"Great idea!" he says pulling out his deck. "Our post-reception duel is going to be awesome! Syrus will get to be there. Dueling is always more fun with friends around."

The duel comes to end with Chazz as the victor. He tries to not gloat too much, but he can't help himself. Jesse doesn't seem to mind, though, and holds his hand out for a high five. Chazz sees the fireworks going off outside the window as they high five.

They make eye contact, and it's quiet for a moment before they both lean in at the same time. The kiss starts out a little awkward, like neither of them are sure about the decision, but it doesn't take long to become a little more comfortable. Just as it starts to become something a little more intense, there's a loud knock on the door and they jump back, startled.

Chazz goes to open the door and Jesse, unsure of what to do, starts cleaning up the cards. On the other side of the door is Syrus.

"Hey," he says, peering inside to see an embarrassed Jesse and a frazzled Chazz. He smirks. "I just came to say goodnight. Don't have too much fun. You have a wedding tomorrow."

Chazz turns bright red and steps out into the hall, shutting the door behind him.

"It's not what you're thinking," he says, but he's not sure why, because it probably is exactly what Syrus is thinking.

"Whatever. You like him, he likes you. Just be careful."

"What does that mean?" Chazz asks.

Syrus sighs. "Rebounding is fine. Probably good for you, honestly. But don't forget that's Jaden's friend, okay? This could easily lead to more drama you don't need."

"You mean you don't want to hear more drama," Chazz says.

Syrus sighs. He's too tired to have this discussion.

"Make good choices," Syrus says and pats Chazz on the arm.

Chazz watches him walk away, then sits down on the floor just beside the bedroom door. Syrus isn't exactly wrong, and while he didn't like when he talked to him in a dad-voice, Chazz appreciated having a friend like Syrus - always willing to talk, and always willing to tell him when he's being stupid.

Across town, Jaden gets into the hotel elevator, phone already out to book a new flight. What Chazz does isn't really his business anymore, he knows that. Jaden just hopes whoever Chazz is marrying on a whim, it isn't as bad of a decision as letting him come in and out of his life for two years.

Just as the doors start to close a familiar blonde woman stops it and forces the door back up.

"I called your name several times," Alexis says as she steps inside. Jim Cook is right behind her, carrying two suitcases and sleepy looking Shirley on his back.

"Hey, guys!" Jaden grins, looking a little confused.

"G'day, mate!" he says cheerfully, ducking into the elevator so not to hit Shirley's head on the door frame. "Howya goin'?"

"Upstairs," Jaden says. Jim chuckles.

"No, how are ya?" he says. "But now that ya mention it, why're you out here?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing!" Jaden says.

"We're here for you wedding," Alexis says, a bemused expression on her face. "Why are you staying in a hotel?"

"We were stoked when we heard! Changed our plans and everything," Jim says.

Jaden frowns.

He didn't realize they knew about his engagement at all, but he isn't surprised if Chazz had told Syrus. He is especially confused about why they assume he is the one Chazz is marrying in the morning.

"It's not my wedding," he tells them. Alexis and Jim exchange a look. "Did he invite you guys?"

"Yeah, nah, it was his mum. She called Alexis yesterday."

"I'm confused. Syrus told us you two got engaged only a month ago. Who is he marrying?"

"No idea. I only heard about it when Aster got invited."

"Did you ditch him again?"

This is why he doesn't tell Syrus anything, and he doesn't really understand why Chazz chose the friend with the biggest mouth to share private information with.

"I-" Jaden doesn't know what to say, so he changes the subject. "If he's getting married on a whim like this, we should stop him, right? He's obviously not okay!"

"Are you okay?" Alexis asks.

The doors tell the elevator open at his floor and he stretches out his arms and pretends to yawn.

"I'm catching an early flight, so I should get some sleep."

"Jaden," Jim says, reaching out, but Jaden dodges him as he exits the elevator.

"Have fun at the wedding," he says, waving before hurrying away down the hall.

Alexis frowns as the doors close behind him, then takes out her phone.

"I'm calling Syrus."

Jesse is sitting by himself in the bedroom, wondering if he should go find Chazz. It's been ten minutes, and he's a little worried that Chazz is going to avoid him. His phone buzzing in his pocket. It's the third time Jaden's called, so he answers.

"Hey, Jay. What's up? Everything alright?"

"No," Jaden says, clearly frustrated.

Jesse frowns. "Are you okay? My fish are still alive, right?"

"Your landlord is feeding them," Jaden says. "You're still not home?"

"Nope," Jesse says, leaning back against the bed frame. "Did you leave? Sorry it's taking me so long-"

"I need to tell you something."

Jesse sits up. The tone in Jaden's voice suggests it's something important, and Jesse hopes he's about to tell him about Chazz. Then he realizes if Jaden tells him about that, he would have to tell Jaden where he's been and what had just happened.

"What's up?" he asks, starting to feel guilty. Jaden doesn't say anything for nearly a minute.

"I've been a bad friend," Jaden mutters finally. The guilt Jesse is feeling grows. Jaden's behavior might be bad, but Jesse hasn't been a much better friend these past couple of weeks.

"That's okay," he says. "I haven't been much better."

"It's not just you, though. I've been a bad friend to everyone. Especially Chazz," Jaden says. "I never told you, but-"

The door to the room opens and Chazz comes in. Jesse panics. This is not how he wants Jaden to find out where he's been, and he doesn't want to ruin Chazz's evening by having Jaden on the phone.

"Sorry, I'm not interested in any new sponsors," he says, then hangs up abruptly, which he regrets immediately.

"Why would someone be calling you about that in the middle of the night?" Chazz asks.

"I- I don't know," Jesse says. It's a stupid excuse, and he wishes he had thought of something better. He wishes lying hadn't been his go-to response. "Actually, that was-"

"That's your business," Chazz interrupts, shaking his head. He sits down and immediately begins tapping his fingers on his knees nervously. "We need to talk about what just happened. I don't think we should- That wasn't a good idea. Right?"

Jesse scoots closer, so they're sitting next to each other, and nudges Chazz with his shoulder.

"I sure wouldn't call it a bad idea," he says. "But no, the timing isn't great."

"I just got dumped by the only person I've ever really been with. And you're probably his best friend, right?" Chazz sighs. "I don't think there is good timing in this situation."

Jesse frowns. Chazz is staring down at the floor, avoiding making eye contact.

"I disagree. I think… I think if we stick a pin in whatever is happening here," Jesse says, gesturing between them, "we can just get through this mess of a situation, keep in touch once we leave, and after a couple months, we can try goin' on a real date."

Chazz looks up and is met with a big smile. He smiles back.

"What if it's weird?"

"Then it's weird, and we just stick to being friends!" Jesse says, bumping shoulders with him again. "Not everything is all or nothin', Chazz."

Chazz huffs, but he agrees. He does go from zero to one hundred pretty fast, and he's definitely intense even at fifty percent. He recognizes he comes off strong, but he isn't quite sure how to not. He wonders if that's where he went wrong with Jaden. Maybe, he thinks, slowing down and letting things happen more naturally like Jesse does would be better.

"Okay. I like that plan."

Jesse holds out his hand to shake Chazz's. Chazz raises an eyebrow, but takes his hand. Jesse shakes it and chuckles.

"It's settled!" he says with a grin. "Oh, I know! Will you be my Valentine?"

Chazz rolls his eyes, but he's smiling and definitely turning red again.

"Yeah, sure, whatever."

The following morning is hectic.

Charlotte has the help waking the family up at 8am, despite none of them going to bed before three in the morning. Charlotte is already out of the house and at the church before anyone has left their rooms. Chazz and Jesse are separated within an hour of getting out of bed, and they only see Chazz's family in passing as everyone is being hurried around. They're all dressed and ready to go by 10am.

When they get there, people are showing up and filing into the pews. Chazz sneaks away to sit outside for a minute. He's interrupted within a matter of minutes by Slade and Jagger.

"Listen, Chazz…" Slade begins, looking frustrated. He can't seem to get the rest of the sentence out, Jagger continues for him.

"We want to apologize for giving you a hard time. It's not that we want you to fail-"

"Could've fooled me," Chazz says.

"It's frustrating to watch you make mistakes. First back at Duel Academy, then when you cut yourself off from the family to do things on your own or whatever."

"It's also frustrating that mom babies you. And then there was that whole mess with Jaden," Slade says. "And don't lie, we know you haven't been with Jesse this entire time. Their names don't sound the same, we're not stupid."

Chazz sighs and slumps down on the bench.

"But Jesse seems alright. A little oblivious, but definitely a better choice."

Them being so honest and kind of nice is a weird experience for Chazz. He can't think of the last time they said anything positive about him. He almost felt bad for lying, but more than anything, he knew for sure he had to lie for as long as possible - because if they were to find out, he would absolutely never get a moment like this with them again.

"Well, thanks," Chazz says. "And I don't want her to treat me differently, you know. That's why I was trying to do things on my own."

"Oh my god!" comes their mom's voice from the front side of the church.

All three of them hurry around the building to find her clinging to Beck, who is chuckling, and Dotty is kneeling down and patting the head of a large crocodile.

"Jim?" Chazz says.

"Hey!" Jim says, waving to Chazz. "Where's Jesse at? I haven't seen him in ages."

"I'll take you to him," Beck says.

Alexis appears from behind Jim and marches over to Chazz. She doesn't look pleased and when she grabs him, her fingers dig a little too hard into his arm.

"Hi, Alexis," he says as she pulls him around back to where he had been sitting before.

"What is going on?" she demands. "Since when are you getting married to Jesse Andersen?"

"It just sort of happened," he mutters, not at all comfortable lying to her. She isn't easily deceived and he had never thought to try and do so. "Thanks for coming?"

"I came for you and Jaden. What happened with that?"

Chazz huffs and sits down on the bench.

"I woke up and he was gone. I'm done being disappointed, and I'm done waiting around for him to come back."

Alexis sighs and sits down beside him.

"I agree. But I don't think marrying his best friend on a whim is the answer."

"Jaden doesn't have a best friend," Chazz says, folding his arms. "The only person he cares about is himself."

"I know you're upset, Chazz, but-"

"You say Jesse's his best friend, but he didn't even know we were together. And how often do you hear from him? "

Alexis frowns. She doesn't agree, but she doesn't have a response that won't just prove to Chazz his point is valid.

"You're upset. And you definitely should move on," she says. "But this seems… unhealthy."

If it were real, Chazz thinks. He's upset now, thinking about Jaden, and he's getting tired of being told he's making bad decisions. They're not wrong, but it still irritates him.

"If you're not here to support me, then you can go. I'm not changing my mind."

Alexis rolls her eyes.

"Don't be dramatic. Of course I'm going to the wedding. I just wanted to check in, alright?"

"Alright," Chazz says after a moment. "Why did your husband have to bring that stupid crocodile?"

"Don't be rude, Chazz. Shirley is family."

Inside the church, Shirley is the center of attention. Chazz and Alexis join the crowd, where Charlotte seems to have warmed up to the animal, and is putting a flower crown on her as Jim helps the Syrus' kids onto her back.

"Alexis, Shirley and I get to be in the wedding!" Jim says excitedly.

Chazz hates that he missed whatever conversation happened that led to this. He looks around and sees Jesse, who waves at him. Chazz wants to talk to him, but there isn't anywhere to go that someone won't follow, especially this close to the ceremony.

"Jim heard I didn't have a best man and kindly offered to be mine," Jesse tells him cheerfully. "And Shirley is going to carry the kids down the aisle while they toss the flowers."

Chazz is torn between being annoyed that Jesse is getting too into it, and finding it charming. He glances at Alexis who smiles at him, and Chazz regrets not telling her the truth. This is truly the worst possible outcome of a small lie he and Jesse should've gotten out of a lot earlier.

"Great. I always hoped a crocodile would be at my wedding," Chazz says unenthusiastically.

"Speaking of best men," Charlotte says, standing up. "Where's Atticus?"

"Atticus is coming? I thought he was going on tour after Christmas…" Alexis says.

Chazz shrugs.

"We just saw him outside," says a voice from behind them. Chazz turns around to see a smug looking Aster, with Zane close behind.

"What- What are you two doing here?" he asks, unable to hide the horror on his face. He was wrong before; Aster is the last person he wants at his fake wedding.

"We were invited," Aster says. "You sound surprised. Did you not mean to invite us?"

"We brought you a wedding gift," Zane says, holding up a neatly wrapped gift.

Chazz clenches his teeth and looks around. His mom looks confused, as does everyone else. He forces a smile and turns back to both of them. Aster knew too much. He knew anything Syrus knew, but with less context and no reason to go along with it.

"No, I was just surprised you were able to make," Chazz says. "I appreciate you guys coming out on such short notice."

"Of course we could make it," Aster says. "We wouldn't miss two of our oldest friends' wedding."

"Speaking of, where's Jaden?" Zane asks.

Chazz forgets to breathe for a few seconds.

"Why would we invite Chazz's ex?" Wren asks.

Jesse comes up beside Chazz, smiling at Zane and Aster.

"It's been a while! Glad you guys could make it. Why don't you go find Atticus, and I'll show them where the gifts go?" Jesse says. Chazz nods and tries not to run as he heads outside.

Atticus is out front like they had said. Three girls are behind him dancing in unison while he sings for Marelia and Jett. Chazz rubs the heels of his palms against his eyes, feeling overwhelmed by Atticus' presence already. But he definitely prefers Atticus being embarrassing over whatever Aster and Zane are trying to do.

"Chazz!" Atticus says, stopping mid-song when he sees him. He hurries across the grass and throws an arm around Chazz's shoulder, pulling him into a half hug. "Congratulations, bud! I was surprised to hear you and Jesse were tying the knot, but he seems like a good dude."

Chazz nods, smiling uncomfortably as Atticus walks him back inside, arm still over his shoulders.

"I was so honored when your mom told me you wanted to be your best man!" Atticus says, then leans in and whispers, "Especially since I definitely was not landing the wedding singer gig. Your aunt and uncle have questionable taste in music."

"Yeah," Chazz agrees. He's already overwhelmed, and he just wants to get Jesse and jump ship. They could just go home, and he could take a page out of Jaden's book and ignore his family when they try to call.

"Let's go meet your mom," Atticus says. Chazz sighs and gives up on the idea. He can't do that to his mom. Maybe Aster just wanted to pick on him and won't actually do anything to sabotage the wedding.

Once Jesse leaves, being pulled away by Charlotte, Aster grabs Zane and goes looking for the others. They find Alexis finding a seat near the front with Syrus. The row is full when they get up there.

"Excuse me," he says to a couple of older women, smiling politely. "Would you mind letting us sit here?"

"That's my brother," Zane says, pointing at Syrus.

The women move and Aster slides in before Zane and gets in Syrus' space.

"So, no one's seen Jaden? For real?" he whispers.

Syrus frowns. "No? Why would Jaden be here?"

"What's going on?" Alexis asks.

"Jaden was supposed to be stopping the wedding, but I guess he bailed," Aster sighs.

"You should have told him about Jesse," Zane says. "Instead of trying to make it into some spectacle."

"Jaden is here," Alexis says. "Jim and I saw him at our hotel last night. What is going on?"

Syrus wishes he had chosen the aisle seat as all three of them stare at him.

"It's not a real wedding, okay?" Syrus says. "I mean, it's really happening, but it's just to fool Chazz's family, because he was embarrassed that Jaden ditched him again right before the holidays."

"That's insane," Alexis says. "This is going a little far for a fake engagement, don't you think?"

"I do! But they've sort of backed themselves into a corner with Chazz's family," Syrus says. "And you've met them, right? They're intimidating. But it's nothing to worry about. It's a little weird, since they're actually into each other, but we should be glad he's moving on from that Jaden drama. Right?"

Alexis looks skeptical, but she nods. Aster on the other hand looks delighted.

"Do you think there's still time?" Zane asks, as Aster pulls out his phone.

"I hope so," he says, sending Jaden a text.

hey. found jesse.  
he's about to walk down the aisle with your bf  
sorry, ex bf.

He adds the address on just before the music starts up. Syrus glares at him.

"Why?" he snaps, as Aster silences his phone and shoves it back into his pocket.

"Because all three of them are behaving like children. They need to work out their issues," Aster says, leaning back and getting comfortable. As comfortable as one can on a wooden bench, that is.

"And there wasn't anything good on TV," Zane adds.

"That too."

The ceremony begins and Chazz realizes in that moment that whenever he gets married for real, he definitely has no interest in having such a traditional wedding. Hopefully the second time around, Dotty will care less about tradition, if she's even still alive. Chazz sighs and tries to avoid looking at anyone as he reaches the front of a crowded church.

He isn't sure who ninety percent of these people are. Why his mother thinks it's romantic to have a room full of strangers watch you get married to another person they don't don't know is beyond him.

Jesse stands across from him and tries to give him a comforting smile, but he's a little too anxious to muster up a very good one. Jim and Atticus' enthusiasm makes it that much worse.

Chazz hardly pays attention while the minister speaks, and they both stumble through pre-approved vows that Charlotte had someone ghost write for them. Finally it comes up on the end, and Chazz is starting to feel like he can breathe again. Then the minister asks for any objections and he almost turns to look at Aster. Or Syrus. Or even Zane.

He's sure one of them will say something, put a stop to this ridiculous charade, because why wouldn't they? They wouldn't actually let him marry someone on a whim, or to cover up a lie; whichever they believe to be the case. There's a long pause, and Chazz lets out a sigh of relief.

"Actually," a voice calls out from the back.

Everyone turns to look. Leaning against the wall by the doors is Jaden, his hand raised like he's in class.

"I just have a question for Jesse," Jaden says. "How'd you go from getting Panda Express to marrying my fiance?"

* * *

_Syrus' kiddos based on PinkCloudiness626's (AO3) Family AU. ❤️_


	8. Serendipity

The silence feels like it might never end. Chazz can't find the right words to break it, and Jesse isn't sure what to say, either. Finally someone whispers something, then someone else whispers back, and suddenly it feels real that Jaden is actually standing there.

"What is going on? Who are you?" Charlotte demands as she gets to her feet. Her tone is somewhere between confused and livid.

"Jaden," he says, though he sounds a little less confident than he had a moment before. "Sorry for interrupting like that, but I need to talk to Jesse before-"

Chazz storms down the aisle without thinking about his end goal. His anger fuels him. Jaden tries to back up, but there's nowhere to go. Chazz grabs Jaden by the shirt and pulls him out into the hall.

"Hey, Chazz, you don't have to pull," he says, stumbling along behind Chazz as he's pulled toward the side entrance to the church. "I'll walk with you-"

Chazz throws open the door and pushes Jaden outside.

"Why are you here?" Chazz asks, a little too loudly.

Jaden chuckles awkwardly, which infuriates Chazz even more.

"How dare you barge in like that!" Chazz demands. "And to call me your fiance? Are you stupid?"

"No! And technically-"

"Technically," Chazz says, "I stopped being your fiance when you ran off and ignored my calls!"

"I texted you…"

"Oh, right," Chazz scoffs. "When you sent me a 'hey'? 'Hey'. Like it wasn't Christmas Eve, and I hadn't been trying to call you for days!"

"I didn't know what to say," Jaden says sheepishly. "I knew you were mad-"

"I wasn't mad!"

"You're yelling."

"Yeah, I'm mad _now_," Chazz tells him. "You just embarrassed me in front of a group of strangers and my family!"

"I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking-"

"Of course you weren't."

Chazz hears shuffling and noises from behind him. Not wanting people to listen, he slams the door shut and turns back to Jaden. He folds his arms across his chest, sure that if he didn't hold onto himself he would end up slapping Jaden.

"I wasn't going to come," Jaden says. "I went to talk to you last night, after I heard you were getting married. But… I left and whatever you want to do is your business. Even though it _is_ a little crazy to marry someone so soon, you know."

"More or less crazy than wasting two years waiting around for someone who clearly has no interest in committing at all?" Chazz glares, resenting being called crazy by Jaden specifically.

"I just mean-" Jaden struggles to explain himself, because Chazz is right and it was partly Jaden's fault for being the one that kept stringing him along.

"I wasn't going to come here," Jaden says, deciding not to try and explain at all. "I know my opinion doesn't matter at this point, but then Aster told me you were marrying Jesse and-"

The door opens behind them. As if he had just been waiting to hear his name, Jesse pokes his head out.

"Jesse," Jaden says. "What is going on? Why are you marrying Chazz?"

"It's a long story," Jesse says, as he steps outside. He shuts the door behind him and stands next to Chazz.

"It wouldn't be that long if you had started telling me a week ago," Jaden says. "I asked you so many times where you were!"

"I reckon there'd be no story if you'd told me anything at all."

"Well, you didn't have to lie to me." Jaden frowns. "I was waiting forever for you to come back!"

"Doesn't feel great, does it?" Jesse immediately feels guilty for being so petty. But he tries not to show it, because he is still mad, and even more so now that Jaden's made things even worse for Chazz than he had to begin with.

"So you guys were trying to, what, teach me a lesson?" Jaden asks.

"I was just upset," Jesse says. "Why wouldn't you tell me about you getting engaged?"

"I… I don't know," Jaden says, looking away.

Chazz glares at both of them.

"Wait, you were waiting for Jesse?"

"Yeah. That's where I went that morning," Jaden explains. "But then he went to grab lunch and never came back." Jaden frowns at Jesse. "Never mentioned he was running off with you. What is going on? You heard what happened and thought, oh, _I'll_ marry him then?"

"No, I thought he needed a friend," Jesse says.

Chazz frowns.

"Hold on. You've been talking to Jaden this whole time?"

"I tried to tell you," Jesse says. "You said it wasn't important. And I didn't want to ruin the evening by makin' you talk about things you repeatedly said you didn't wanna talk about."

"Whatever."

"Are you upset? I was just doing what you asked."

"It doesn't matter what you do," Jaden says. "It's never good enough."

"What?" Chazz gets loud again.

Jesse takes a step back, wanting to exit from the conversation entirely. He wishes he had just stayed inside with the others.

"Are you seriously criticizing me? You take off at the first sign of conflict!"

"Right," Jaden says, almost muttering. "And you just make conflict out of nothing,"

"Not being able to talk to you about anything remotely serious, or not knowing if or when you're going to disappear on me, isn't nothing, Jaden."

"You don't talk to me, you talk at me."

"You not contributing to the conversation is not my fault," Chazz says. "If you hate being around me so much, why do you keep coming back?"

"I don't hate being around you! It always starts out fun, but then-" Jaden pauses, frowning as he tries to figure out exactly what he means to say. "I don't know. It changes and you get... weird."

"Weird?" Chazz has no idea what that means, and he's too annoyed at this point to care enough to ask. "Whatever. I'm leaving," he says and starts to walk away. He doesn't have a destination, but he figures he'll start with getting as far away from the church as possible, and then decide from there.

"Chazz, wait," Jesse says, starting to follow him.

"Let's be honest," Chazz says, stopping to look at Jesse while he speaks. "Anything that happened between lying to my family and lying to a church full of people was a mistake. None of it was real, I mean, you're basically just another Jaden. How pathetic is that?"

"That's not true," Jesse says, a little offended.

"Really? Because you just spent a week doing to Jaden what he does to everyone else all the time," Chazz says as if he was making some grand point. "You're always in and out of love, right? You just got caught up in the act, I'm sure."

"Hey!" Jesse glares at him. "That's unfair. Just because you have no self-awareness, doesn't mean I don't."

"Whatever," Chazz says, waving his hand dismissively. "I'm going home."

Chazz walks off in a huff, leaving Jesse feeling both irritated and defeated. He rounds on Jaden.

"You couldn't wait until after?" Jesse asks. "Or shown up before?"

Jaden shrugs. He felt bad that this had devolved into an argument, but he didn't feel bad for stopping their wedding.

"What, I was supposed to just let you get married-"

Jaden stops talking abruptly when the door to the church flies open behind him.

"Where is my son going?" Charlotte demands, pushing past Jaden and stopping directly in front of Jesse. He recoils, giving her a nervous smile.

"Home," Jesse says. "'Least that's what he told us."

"His home, or mine?"

"He didn't say." Jesse says, frowning. "Yours, I reckon? At least to get his things."

"Explain to me what's happening, and make it fast."

"I was just trying to help a friend, ma'am," Jesse explains, nervously rubbing his neck as he eases away from her. "Chazz was embarrassed when Jaden bailed on him that morning, and we got a bit carried away when his brothers were tryin' to make him feel bad about it."

"He was so embarrassed that he was going to get married rather than tell me the truth?" Charlotte asks, sounding more hurt than angry now.

"I think after the first day it was guilt that kept the lie goin'," Jesse says. She stares at him for a moment, as if deciding something, before she speaks again.

"I need to go check on my family," Charlotte says. She looks around to the door, where their friends are not so subtly snooping. "Someone here better go get my son."

Charlotte begins to go back inside, but stops and points at Jaden. "Except you. You should just go home."

As soon as the door closes behind her, Alexis marches over to Jaden and grabs him by the arm.

"You're coming with me to find Chazz."

"But she just said-"

"She doesn't know what she's talking about," Alexis says. "You need to apologize correctly."

"You really want to sit through that?" Aster says.

She just glares at him, and silently pulls Jaden toward the street. He wiggles out of her grip.

"I shouldn't have come in the first place" he says, turning to walk the other way. "He doesn't want to talk to me, and I don't blame- hey!"

Jim interrupts Jaden by scooping him up under his arm, as if he were a child.

"No one's askin', Jaden," Jim says as he follows Alexis.

Jaden struggles to get free the entire way to their truck, but he is no match for Jim.

"Watch yer head, mate," he says as he sets him down in the back seat. He shuts the door on Jaden. "Try turnin' on the child-lock on, Alexis, while I go fetch Shirley."

Alexis nods and hops into the driver's seat, where she immediately locks Jaden's doors.

"At least try," she says. Jaden sighs and slumps back in his seat.

Jesse fidgets as he watches Jaden be taken away. He isn't really sure what to do next. Chazz is apparently mad at him now as well, and he definitely doesn't need to go along while Jaden attempts to straighten things out between them. All of the stuff he got and his deck are back at Chazz's family's home, though, so he needs to go there before he can find a plane home.

"Well, that was fun," Aster says. Jesse raises an eyebrow, not really sure if he was being serious or not.

"It was alright," Zane replies, shrugging.

"Thanks for having us," Aster says, giving Jesse a quick smile. "Even though the wedding's off, you can keep the gift."

"Uh, thank you?" Jesse says, unsure of how else to respond. "Bye."

Aster pulls out his phone and he and Zane walk toward the road, leaving Syrus and Jesse alone.

Jesse sighs. "What now?"

"Do you mind getting my kids, while I go save Chazz's mom from whatever Atticus is probably doing?"

Jesse chuckles. "Sure thing."

After Jaden is dropped off at Chazz's family home, he finds it pretty easy to convince the help to tell him where Chazz's bedroom is. Probably a little too easy, considering they have no reason to trust Jaden isn't someone with bad intentions, but he shrugs it off as good luck and heads upstairs. When he reaches Chazz's bedroom, he opens the door slowly and peers inside.

Chazz is back in casual clothes and struggling to get his suitcase to zip up. Rather than folding anything, he's just throwing his clothes in a pile inside of it. He isn't thinking about anything except getting out of there as fast as possible, before he has to confront his mother, or even worse, Slade and Jagger.

Unfortunately, his frantic packing style is only making it take longer to get his things together. He sits on top of the suitcase, trying to squish it down far enough that he can force the zipper closed around it. When this doesn't work, he starts pulling out items and tossing them back on the floor. He didn't need to bring everything home with him anyway.

"Hey, Chazz," Jaden says awkwardly.

Chazz turns and throws the shirt he's holding at Jaden's face. Jaden tosses it to the ground and frowns at Chazz, who has turned away to continue trying to make space in his suitcase for at least his important items.

"Can we talk," Jaden asks, "For real this time?"

"No."

Chazz continues to storm around grabbing his things and overpacking. Jaden enters the room and shuts the door, taking a seat on the floor and watches quietly. After a few minutes, Chazz lets out a dramatic sigh and turns around, hands on his hips.

"Make it quick, I have a flight to catch."

"How quick is quick?"

"You have one minute."

"That's not enough time!" Jaden frowns. "I don't know exactly what I want to say yet!"

"You should've thought of that before you came up here!"

"But if I waited, you would already be gone," Jaden says, "Then it'd be too late, right? I'd miss my opportunity and it'd really be over."

"It's already over, Jaden."

"But you're still talking to me," Jaden points out. "If you got on a plane and started to calm down… you already blocked my number, right? You're only talking to me now because I crashed your wedding."

"And because you won't go away," Chazz says, folding his arms as he sits on top of the suitcase. "Twenty seconds."

"I don't want you to stop being my friend." Jaden looks down at his hands, as he wrings them together nervously.

"Why would I want to be friends with you now?" Chazz watches as Jaden seems to struggle to find even a half-decent response. After a pause that's just a little too long, Chazz sighs. "Did you actually want to get married?"

"...No."

Chazz frowns. It was the answer he was expecting, but the sad tone that it came with was not. The anger he had been feeling is replaced with a feeling he can't quite describe.

"Then why did you ask?"

Jaden shrugs, continuing to look anywhere but at Chazz.

"Because that's what you wanted."

"I never said I wanted you to propose to me," Chazz says. "You aren't supposed to marry someone just because you think that's what they want you to do."

"I'm supposed to want what you want, right?" Jaden asks, glancing up at Chazz. He looks confused. "When you love a person, and they want to date or get married, then you should want to do those things too, right?"

"Sure," Chazz says, raising an eyebrow. "If you love them in that way, maybe."

"In what way?"

"In a romantic way, obviously," Chazz says, a little frustrated. "Do you enjoy doing romantic things with me?"

"I don't mind it." Jaden shrugs.

"But you don't like it."

"I would rather do fun things, but I also want to do what you want to do."

"You aren't supposed to date someone just because you think that's what they want you to do," Chazz says, throwing a sock at Jaden. "Romance is supposed to be mutual."

Jaden ducks and tries not to smile. He can tell Chazz hasn't completely given up on him, but Jaden doesn't want him to think he isn't taking the conversation seriously.

"I don't mind doing romantic things with you," he says.

"That's not exactly romantic," Chazz says.

"I don't get it. How do I make it romantic?"

"This conversation is stupid," Chazz says, sliding off the suitcase so he can start folding his clothes properly. He's calm enough to realize he won't get very far if he doesn't just start over. "If you don't want it then nothing you do can make it romantic."

"But if those are the things you want to do when we hang out, then that's what I want to do!"

"Wanting to do something is not the same thing as wanting to appease someone else. You're not supposed to get married just appease the other person."

"Well, then why am I supposed to want to get married?" Jaden asks. Chazz sighs.

"You aren't _supposed_ to want to," he says. "You either want to or you don't."

"What happens if I don't want to?"

"Then we don't get married," Chazz says, a little louder than he means to. He's frustrated and confused. "What are you not understanding? If you don't want to date or get married, then we don't have to do that! You didn't have to pretend just because that's what I wanted."

"I wasn't pretending! I don't mind doing it if-" Jaden stops when another sock hits him in the face.

"You do mind! Otherwise you wouldn't leave anytime it got too serious!"

"I thought-" Jaden starts, but then stops to think for a moment. "I want to want it. Because you do."

Chazz sighs.

"What do you actually want?"

"To hang out like we used to," Jaden says. "When it was fun. The relationship stuff was never fun, and you wouldn't just explain to me how to do it right-"

"I shouldn't have to explain romance to you, Jaden," Chazz snaps, but he's not as frustrated as he was. He's confused, but he also thinks he sort of understands. "If you don't feel that way for me, then just say that. I'd get over it."

"I'm sorry," Jaden says quietly after a moment. "Is it too late to tell you now?"

Chazz stares at him for a moment, then shrugs.

"We'll see."

Jaden sits quietly for a while, watching Chazz fold clothes and organize his suitcase properly. As Chazz finally zips his suitcase up, he remembers on the nightstand. He points at it, since Jaden is closer.

"Grab my deck for me," he says.

Jaden hops up and grabs the black case, but instead of handing it to Chazz, he stops to examine it.

"This is awesome!" he says. "Where'd you get it?"

"Jesse," Chazz says, getting up to go take it. "I'm trying to get out of here before anyone else shows up."

"Oh, like a Christmas present? Pretty fancy," Jaden says. He's a little surprised it was something so nice, considering they hardly knew each other.

"We were pretending to be engaged," Chazz says, putting it onto his belt. "It had to be a good gift."

"Oh yeah."

Jaden begins to explore the room, while Chazz pulls out his check on the location of the ride he'd ordered. Jaden notices the bed unmade on both sides, and Jesse's personal items on the opposite nightstand. He frowns.

"Hey," Chazz says from the doorway. "Let's go before the car leaves. Unless you plan on hanging around and dealing with my family?

Jaden shakes his head, horrified by the idea, and follows Chazz as he hurries down the stairs and outside.

"Chazz?" he asks as they speed walk down the driveway.

"What?"

"What'd you get Jesse for Christmas?" Jaden asks.

"Some old duel disk," Chazz says, giving Jaden a look. "Why?"

"I was just curious."

They fall back into silence as they approach the curb, where a cab is already waiting. Chazz puts his suitcase into the trunk as Jaden crawls into the backseat. Chazz gets in after him and shuts the door. They ride quietly for a few minutes before Jaden speaks.

"Are you going to talk to Jesse before you leave?"

Chazz huffs. "Why would I?"

"Don't you like him?" Jaden asks. "You were just engaged for two weeks-"

"It wasn't real."

"Ok, but you like him, right?"

"I have no idea," Chazz says, but he does know.

Whether or not it was a good idea, he was excited by the idea of a real date with Jesse. He'd been looking forward to Valentine's Day and he doesn't want to lose that opportunity just because he was upset right now. Without saying anything else about it, he gives the driver directions to the chapel instead.

Chazz gets out of the car just in time to see his mother leaving the chapel. When Charlotte sees Chazz waiting by the road, she marches across the grass toward him. Chazz asks the driver to wait then Jaden closes the door to the car before Charlotte reaches them. She not-so-gently bops Chazz on the side of his head.

"Don't you ever do something like that again," she says.

Chazz gives her his best apologetic smile.

"You were so excited when I said he was actually coming this time," Chazz says. "I felt stupid, and I didn't want to deal with the pity. And having to hear Slade and Jagger-"

"I was excited for you, Chazz," she says, sighing. "Your brothers are always going to give you a hard time, but that's no reason to trick your entire family like that. Especially me."

"I know. I won't do it again," Chazz says. Charlotte nods, satisfied by his response.

"You're not with that boy again, are you?" She glares past him through the window. Chazz shakes his head.

"No. We're just headed the same way," he says. "Is Jesse still here?"

She raises an eyebrow. "No. He left about an hour ago after helping the staff clean up the chapel."

Chazz smiles, despite himself. He didn't understand why anyone would stay around an awkward situation just to help clean when they didn't need to, but he found it charming nonetheless. Unfortunately, that meant he missed his chance to talk to Jesse. Chazz decides to take this as a sign.

"I should get to the airport," he says.

"Are you sure you don't want to spend a couple more days with me?" she asks, and Chazz tries his best to not let it show how much he hated that idea. It wasn't the spending time with her that was the problem, of course, he just wasn't ready to face his brothers or anyone else in the family.

"No, I have to get home," he insists. Charlotte shrugs and pulls him in for a quick hug.

"Call me," she says, but just as she starts to turn away she stops. "Oh, Dotty wanted me to tell you that if you bring Jesse around here again, it better be for a real wedding."

With that, she waves and walks away. A bemused Chazz gets into the car and they start toward the airport once again.

Around 8pm, Chazz is sitting at his terminal, waiting for his flight. Jaden had left a few hours before, in favor of taking a cheaper, earlier flight, whereas Chazz wanted to wait for one with available first class seating. After the holiday he's had, he isn't in the mood to worry about affordability.

Chazz wishes he had been able to find Jesse before he'd left. He thinks about texting him and pulls out his phone to do so, but as Chazz scrolls through his contacts he realizes he never got around to asking Jesse for his phone number.

The call for boarding on his flight is called, so Chazz pockets his phone and gets up to get in line.

"Funny seeing you here."

Chazz turns to see Jesse standing next to him.

"We're on the same flight?" Chazz asks, surprised.

"Seems like it!" Jesse says, chuckling. "I was sorta hoping I'd bump into you, though. You owe me a duel."

"Here in the airport?"

"Why not?"

"Unless you have two duel disks in that backpack..." Chazz trails off as Jesse takes his backpack off and pulls out exactly that.

"My flight is boarding," Chazz says. Jesse holds out the duel disk for him to take, and Chazz only hesitates for a second before he takes it. "If I win, you pay for my flight and the one I just missed."

"Deal. And if I win, we're still on for Valentine's Day."

Chazz turns away so that Jesse can't see him smile.

"Whatever," he says and heads out into an open area.

"Y'know, I am sorry for not telling you about Jaden," Jesse says, as they turn on their duel disks. "You were just starting to seem like you were having a good time, and I didn't want to spoil it."

Chazz takes his turn first.

"It's no excuse, though," Jesse continues, barely paying attention as Chazz summons a monster. "I should've just said something to begin with."

"I end my turn," Chazz says after he sets two cards. "I'm not mad. I was, but mostly about how I found out."

Jesse nods. "I had a lotta fun hanging out with you," he says.

"Same," Chazz says. "Thanks for coming with me."

"It was my pleasure," Jesse says. People are around them now, watching the duel, so he decides to change the topic. "Now, I suppose we should stop with the chatter and get to duelin'!"

When the duel ends, Jesse follows Chazz to purchase new tickets. With such short notice, they both end up in economy seating, several rows apart.

"Well, at least we'll be on the same flight! That'll be fun," Jesse says, just barely able to hide the disappointment in his tone.

Chazz stops walking as they pass Panda Express.

"Are you hungry?" he asks.

"Almost always," Jesse says.

They go in, order food, then find a seat. Jesse grabs the fortune cookies first. He hands one to Chazz and grins.

"I think the cookie is meant for after the food," Chazz says.

"No, you gotta read it first. Just in case, you know?"

Chazz isn't really sure what that means, but it's just ominous enough that he accepts it and takes out his fortune. It reads 'when one door closes, another opens'. Chazz sighs.

"What's it say?" Jesse asks.

"That we don't need to wait until February to go on a date." Chazz thinks that if the timing truly was off, Jesse wouldn't have ended up on the same flight as him.

"Really?" Jesse grins. "So much for a clichéd proverb."

Chazz crumples it up and tosses it at his forehead. Jesse laughs. They talk and eat until the restaurant closes, and then head over to their terminal just in time to start boarding.

Jesse heads toward the back of the plane, and Chazz finds his seat closer to the middle. He grumbles as he squeezes into the middle seat. As he's turning his phone off for the flight, Jesse speaks.

"Excuse me, ma'am," he says to the woman in the aisle seat. "I hate to bother you, but would you mind swappin' seats with me so I can sit next to my fiance?"

The woman glances over at Chazz, and then up at Jesse's friendly smile. She just shrugs and gathers her things together and gets up. Jesse shows her his seat number, and then sits down next to Chazz and grins at him. He nudges Chazz's arm off the armrest between them, then lifts it so there's a comfortable space between them for both their arms.

Chazz rolls his eyes, but he smiles back at him. This time they don't have to pretend. Chazz really is looking forward to spending time with Jesse when they get back home.

* * *

Thank you for reading! 3


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